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Tsien Spaceplane 1949
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In 1949 Tsien Hsue-shen, the leading expert in high-speed aerodynamics working in America, applied the knowledge learned from German rocket developments to the design of a practical intercontinental rocket transport. He proposed a 5,000 km single stage winged rocket clearly derived from V-2 aerodynamics.
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Shuguang 1
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Shuguang-1 (Dawn-1) was China's first manned spacecraft design. The two-man capsule would have been similar to the American Gemini capsule and been launched by the CZ-2 booster. Development began in 1966; 19 astronauts were selected in 1971; and first manned flight was expected in 1973. However the managers of the astronaut training group were purged in the aftermath of the attempted overthrow of Mao Zedong by Lin Biao. The training group was dissolved in 1972.
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Chinese Manned Capsule 1978
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First public announcement of a Chinese manned program came in February, 1978. By November the head of the Chinese Space Agency, Jen Hsin-Min, confirmed that China was working on a manned space capsule and a "Skylab" space station. However official Chinese histories show no approved Chinese manned program between 1975 and 1985 - so the whole thing seems to have been a disinformation exercise or a result of obscure political infighting.
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Tsien Spaceplane 1978
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Tsien Hsue-shen's manned spacecraft design proposed in the late 1970's was a winged spaceplane, launched by a CZ-2 core booster with two large strap-on boosters. It so strongly resembled the cancelled US Dynasoar of 15 years earlier that US intelligence analysts wondered if it wasn't based on declassified Dynasoar technical information.
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Chang Cheng 1
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The Chang Cheng 1 (Great Wall 1) vertical takeoff / horizontal landing two-stage space shuttle was a compromise design created jointly by Shanghai Astronautics Bureau 805 (now the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology) and Institute 604 of the Air Ministry in 1988. An expendable booster, consisting of three of Shanghai's planned liquid oxygen/kerosene modular boosters, would boost the winged second stage shuttle to a high altitude. The engines of the winged shuttle stage would take it to orbit. This approach would allow a first flight to be made in 2008.
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H-2 HTOHL
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The H-2 horizontal takeoff / horizontal landing two-stage reusable space shuttle was proposed by Institute 601 of the Air Ministry in 1988. The first stage would used air breathing engines to accelerate the rocket-powered second stage to release velocity. This ambitious design would leapfrog China ahead of other spacefaring nations, but would be available no earlier than 2015. It was decided the concept was beyond Chinese technical capability, and it was not pursued further.
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Tian Jiao 1
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The Tian Jiao 1 (Pre-eminent in Space 1) manned spaceplane was proposed by the First Academy (now the China Academy of Launch Technology) in 1988. It duplicated the aerodynamic shape of the American shuttle, but at 16.5 m long and a wingspan of 12 m, had a launch mass of only 20 to 25 metric tons. The spaceplane would be launched by an expendable booster. Pursuing this as a more modest first objective would allow China to take an incremental approach to eventually achieving a reusable shuttle. Conceived as being able to fly in both unmanned and manned modes, Tian Jiao 1 could have been available by 2003. Instead it was decided to pursue the Shenzhou ballistic manned space capsule in the short term, although development of spaceplanes of the Tian Jiao type continued in the 21st Century.
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V-2 VTOHL
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The V-2 vertical takeoff / horizontal landing two-stage reusable space shuttle was proposed by Beijing Department 11 of the Air Ministry in 1988. The first stage would use liquid oxygen/kerosene engines, while the second would use liquid oxygen/hydrogen engines. Both stages would be winged, and first flight would be no earlier than 2015.
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Project 921-1
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Shenzhou
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The Chinese Shenzhou manned spacecraft resembled the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, but was of larger size and all-new construction. Like the Soyuz, it consisted of a forward orbital module, a re-entry capsule, and an aft service module. Unlike the Soyuz, the orbital module was equipped with its own propulsion, solar power, and control systems, allowing autonomous flight. Shenzhou would be used to develop manned spaceflight techniques (extravehicular activity, rendezvous and docking) and later serve as a ferry to Chinese space stations. Like Soyuz, derivatives could be used as a lunar orbital and landing spacecraft.
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Tian Jiao 2
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What appeared to be an evolved version of 1988's Tian Jiao 1 manned spaceplane concept was proposed by the China Academy of Launch Technology in 2006. A 2020 operational date was mentioned.
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Project 921-2
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Phase 2 of China's Project 921 was to culminate in orbiting of an 8-metric ton man-tended mini-space station. As of 2007 it was announced that Shenzhou 8 and 9 would be of this configuration, equipped with two docking ports. and launched in 2010. They would then be followed by the manned Shenzhou 10, which would presumably operate the station for a brief period. Then there would be another multi-year delay, with another small man-tended space station being launched in 2012. The station would probably consist of versions of the Shenzhou service and orbital modules modified for the specific mission. The 20-metric ton space laboratory seems to have been delayed to 2015 or beyond.
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Shenlong
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Chinese spaceplane photographed under the belly of an H-6 medium bomber in 2007. Probably a subscale drop test model of a potential space combat system.
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Chinese Space Laboratory
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The latest models displayed of the Chinese Space Laboratory show it to have a larger-diameter module, about 4 m in diameter, and a narrower module forward, about 3 m in diameter. A Shenzhou is shown docked to the forward end, and what seems to be another docking port (or possibly a propulsion module) appeared at the base of the large-diameter module. It was very reminiscent of the early Soviet Salyut space stations. By 2007 scheduled launch had slipped to beyond 2012.
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Shenzhou Circumlunar
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In January and February 2003 Chinese sources began discussing plans for a Chinese manned circumlunar mission by 2008. On January 4, Xu Yansong, a senior official of the China National Space Administration, declared that 'China will put men in space in the next six months and send a flyby mission to the moon in four years'. This was followed by a statement in February by Huang Chunping, General Director for Launch Vehicles for China's space program, that 'China has the full capability to send astronauts to the moon'. Then in March 2003, Ouyang Ziyuan announced a three-phase, 15 year plan for unmanned exploration of the moon. He also said a piloted mission to the moon was not a goal for China within the next decade. This authoritatively refuted the earlier reports. Therefore any Shenzhou manned circumlunar mission would probably not occur until 2015 at the earliest.
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Chinese Lunar Base
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Beginning in 2000, Chinese scientists began discussing preliminary work on a Chinese manned lunar base. Although not funded, it remains a long-term objective of the Chinese space program for the second quarter of the 21st Century.
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