China – the new space nation?
China is building itself into the third major spacefaring nation. A report from Beijing on how state and private firms are pursuing supremacy in space.
China is investing massively in its space technology and aiming for dominance. But without the military and the state, nothing moves in the sector. Handelsblatt correspondent Stephan Scheuer visited one of the leading companies in Beijing.
Background
In 2017 China’s space programme stood on the threshold of international recognition as the third major spacefaring nation. The early lunar probes (Chang’e-1 and Chang’e-2) had succeeded, the Beidou satellite navigation system was under construction and crewed flights (since 2003) had become routine. The plan for a permanent space station of its own – Tiangong – was already under way.
What followed was a series of spectacular achievements. In 2019 Chang’e-4 achieved the first lunar landing on the far side of the Moon – a manoeuvre no country had ever attempted, requiring a dedicated relay satellite at the L2 Lagrange point. In 2020 Chang’e-5 returned lunar rock samples to Earth for the first time since 1976. In 2021 China successfully landed the Zhurong rover on Mars (Tianwen-1), becoming only the third country after the United States and the Soviet Union to achieve a Mars landing.
Since 2022 the Tiangong space station has been permanently crewed – a three-module structure in orbit between 340 and 450 kilometres altitude. China thereby has the only national space station alongside the United States (on the International Space Station, to which China was never admitted). From around 2028 Tiangong will likely be the only remaining space station in low Earth orbit, as the ISS is scheduled for de-orbit and the US-planned Gateway station is to be built near the Moon rather than in Earth orbit.
A commercial Chinese space sector has also developed. Companies such as iSpace, Galactic Energy, Landspace and China Rocket have flown their own launch vehicles. An official plan for a crewed Moon landing by 2030 is in place; the new spacecraft Mengzhou and the Long March 10 rocket are in development.
The geopolitical significance cannot be underestimated. China’s space programme is civil-military integrated; many technologies also serve reconnaissance and military satellite operations. The Beidou navigation system is now more precise than the American GPS and is used by states including Pakistan, Russia and a growing number of African countries. Space is thus increasingly becoming an arena for geopolitical rivalry – alongside the one on Earth.