Beijing symposium marks 50th anniversary of 1st satellite launch

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the country's leading space contractor, held a symposium on Tuesday in Beijing marking the coming 50th anniversary of the launch of Dongfanghong 1, China's first satellite.

Wu Yansheng, chairman of the State-owned conglomerate, Yuan Jie, the company's general manager, and a number of distinguished rocket scientists and spacecraft designers took part in the event. They recalled the research and development of Dongfanghong 1, which was lifted by China's first carrier rocket – the Long March 1 – on April 24, 1970, and discussed the experience and challenges in the country's space industry.

The mission of Dongfanghong 1, or The East is Red 1, made China the fifth nation in the world to independently design, build and launch a satellite. The spacecraft worked 28 days before it ran out of power, but the satellite still travels in its orbit.

Since then, China has developed and operated 17 models of Long March rockets. More than 300 Long March missions sent over 500 spacecraft into orbit.

Wu said China's space efforts made a lot of remarkable achievements over the past 50 years and have overcome numerous difficulties and setbacks. He urged space workers to improve the quality of their products and carry out reforms in research and development work so they can better realize China's space aspirations.

In 2016, China set April 24 as China Space Day. Space authorities and major contractors organize various kinds of events around the date each year to commemorate past accomplishments in the nation's space sector.

China carried out more space missions than any other spacefaring nation in the world in 2019, with 32 successful orbital launches.