[Global Issue+] 50 Years of China's Space Rise Started with U.S. 'Help'

Dr. Cheon Xuesun Selected as a Scholar in the U.S., Chief Commander of China's Space Ambitions
Exchanged for U.S. POWs from the Korean War, U.S. Military Claims "Better to Kill Than Release"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] China has successfully launched a Mars probe 50 years after its space rise began with the launch of its first artificial satellite, Dongfenghong-1, in 1970. It has now firmly joined the ranks of space powers alongside the United States and Russia. The U.S. is highly wary of China's rapid advancements in space technology. Ironically, the seeds of China's powerful space development technology today actually began in the United States.

According to Chinese local media such as Xinhua News Agency, on the 23rd, China's Mars probe Tianwen-1 was launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan. The Chinese government did not disclose the launch schedule nor broadcast the launch live on TV, only releasing a video after the successful launch. This is presumed to be an attempt to conceal any possible launch failure. Some speculate that the schedule was kept secret to beat the U.S. Mars probe Perseverance, scheduled to launch next month.

In any case, the U.S. took a hit to its pride. The 20th of this month is celebrated annually in the U.S. as "Space Day" since the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. Moreover, last year marked the 50th anniversary, and the U.S. had planned to send a Mars probe on this year's Space Day, but the Perseverance launch was postponed to next month due to maintenance issues. China took advantage of this gap and succeeded in launching its Mars probe first.

Ironically, when China first began space development, it was also with help from the U.S. According to the BBC, China, which had no technical foundation, succeeded in space development in such a short time thanks to Dr. Qian Xuesen, a renowned American rocket scientist, who was exchanged to China during the Korean War in 1955 in a prisoner swap involving U.S. POWs. Dr. Qian, a Chinese national, was a top talent who studied rocket engineering at MIT and other institutions in the U.S. on a scholarship.

In 1955, Dr. Tian Xuesen (left) is seen conversing with Mao Zedong, then Chairman of China (right), at a welcome dinner held upon his return to the country.
[Image source: China National Space Administration (CNSA) website/www.cnsa.gov.cn]

Dr. Qian was born in 1911 during the Xinhai Revolution. He came from a prestigious family in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, and was known as a local prodigy. Thanks to this, he was selected as a scholarship student and went to study in the U.S. in 1935. The foundation that selected him was the Jingzi Scholarship Foundation, established with part of the reparations China paid to eight Western powers, including the U.S., after the failure of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Dr. Qian later became a famous rocket engineer in the U.S.

His fate changed with the Korean War in 1950. Although Dr. Qian's family was close to the Kuomintang rather than the Chinese Communist Party, and he himself was distanced from communism, the U.S. government accused him of espionage from 1950 and placed him under house arrest for five years. This was during the height of McCarthyism and shortly after World War II, when racial discrimination against Asians was severe. Outraged by this treatment, Dr. Qian expressed his desire to return to China, and the U.S. government exchanged him for U.S. POWs. At the time, U.S. military reports claimed he was equivalent to five U.S. divisions and should have been killed, but this was ignored.

Upon his return to China, Mao Zedong warmly welcomed him. Mao told Dr. Qian he wanted to launch a satellite like Sputnik into space, and Dr. Qian proposed a plan requiring 15 years and all necessary support: five years for basic science, five years for applied science, and five years for rocket manufacturing. Mao readily accepted, and 15 years later, China’s first satellite, Dongfenghong-1, was launched into orbit, fulfilling the promise. Dr. Qian not only led space development but also China's first nuclear test in 1964, as well as the development of nuclear submarines and various ballistic missiles, greatly advancing China's missile capabilities. This was truly a bitter pill for the U.S.

Now, China, together with Russia, has announced plans to build a lunar base on the far side of the moon by 2025. According to Russian TASS news agency, on the 24th (local time), Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS), stated on a Russian internet broadcast channel that "Recently, together with Zhang Kejian, director of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), Russia and China agreed to jointly establish a research base on the moon." The U.S. suspects that the two countries may install not just a research base but a military base on the moon, and fears they might violate the Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits nuclear tests outside the atmosphere. The new Cold War in space between China, Russia, and the U.S. is expected to intensify further.