Source: Xinhua/chinadaily.com.cn
BEIJING - Starting from 1956, China's space industry has realized great achievements. Here is a timetable of the country's space industry.
October 8, 1956: The Fifth Academy of the National Defense Ministry -- the country's first rocket research institution – was founded, symbolizing the birth of the Chinese space industry.
July 19, 1964: The first biological rocket was launched, carrying white mice into space.
April 1, 1968: Institute of Space Medico-Engineering was established, initiating the selection and training of astronauts and the manned space flight medical engineering research.
April 24, 1970: First artificial Earth satellite -- Dong Fang Hong-1 Satellite -- was launched at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center as China joins the former Soviet Union, America, France and Japan as the fifth country to launch satellites.
November 26, 1975: The launch and recovery of the first recoverable satellite makes China the third country to master this technology.
1979: Yuanwang-1 ocean-going tracking ship was commissioned, making China the fourth country to possess such a vessel.
1985: The Long March rocket series began to initiate commercial launch programs. In 1990, Long March 3 launched the first foreign satellite -- the US-built AsiaSat 1.
1988: Ministry of Aerospace Industry was founded.
1992: The Chinese manned space program was officially adopted.
From 1990 to 2002, China launched four unmanned spaceships (Shenzhou 1 to Shenzhou 4), laying solid foundations for future manned spacecraft.
October 15, 2003: The launch of its first manned aircraft -- Shenzhou 5 -- sent one astronaut into space. The 21-hour flight allowed China to become the third country to independently conduct manned space flights, following the Soviet Union and the United States.
October 12, 2005: Shenzhou 6 manned aircraft was launched, sending two astronauts into space.
October 24, 2007: The first unmanned lunar orbiter -- Chang'e 1-- was launched, making China the fifth country to master this technology.
September 25, 2008: The Shenzhou VII spacecraft carrying three crew members was launched by a Long March 2F (CZ-2F) rocket. On 27 September, Zhai Zhigang, wearing a Chinese-developed Feitian space suit, conducted a 22-minute space walk, the first ever for a Chinese astronaut.
