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"The real gap between China and the United States in the development of the aerospace field is actually more than ten years, and it is far greater than people think!"
After several decades of development, the mainland has made great progress in the development of the aerospace field. However, some experts believe that the gap between China and the United States in the field of aerospace development is far greater than imagined.
So what is the level of the mainland in the aerospace field today, and is it really as experts say, there is a huge gap between it and the United States?
China's aerospace development started late
Compared with the United States, China's development in the aerospace field started late, and it was not until the mid-to-late 50s of the last century that it began to officially start.
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the "Sputnik 1" satellite into space, becoming the first country in the world to launch a satellite, which also opened a new chapter in the development of human spaceflight.
After the Soviet Union, the United States followed suit in 1958 with the launch of the first artificial satellite, Explorer-1. The successive launches of satellites by the United States and the Soviet Union have made the mainland profoundly aware of the importance of the development of the space field.
So in 1958, the mainland officially established the artificial satellite program codenamed "581 Mission" and began to independently develop domestic satellites.
However, because China's aerospace industry was just starting out at that time, it lacked experience in the development of satellites, and its domestic manufacturing and production technology was relatively backward, so at the very beginning, the mainland encountered many difficulties in the development of satellites.
Under the research of generations of scientific researchers, the mainland finally achieved a breakthrough in artificial satellites in 1970, and successfully sent the "Dongfanghong No. 1" artificial satellite into space, making the melodious "Dongfanghong" resounding in space.
After becoming the fifth country in the world capable of launching artificial satellites, the mainland carried out 22 space launches between 1970 and 1986 and established a space science and technology center.
As the space launch progressed, the continent continued to gain experience in the process. By 1986, the success rate of China's space launch had been as high as 80%, which also meant that the development of China's aerospace field had officially shifted from the stage of pursuing quantity to the stage of pursuing quality.
China's aerospace achievements since the 21st century
Since the beginning of the 21 st century, with the continuous development of the economic level and science and technology, the mainland's development in the aerospace field can be said to have embarked on a "fast track."
In the 24 years since the beginning of the new century, China has made many proud achievements in the development of the aerospace field.
For example, the "Tiangong" space station, which is the first space station system designed and produced entirely by the mainland. At present, in the world, apart from China, only the United States and Russia have the ability to build space stations on their own.
It is not difficult to see from this that after more than half a century, the mainland's development in the aerospace field has gradually caught up with and surpassed the world's leading level.
In January 2024, with the successful completion of the mission of the "Tianzhou-6" cargo spacecraft returning home, the mainland's "Tiangong" space station officially entered the stage of independent operation in space.
At present, the International Space Station has been operating in space for up to 20 years, and with the aging of the International Space Station in the future, the "Tiangong" space station will very likely take over the International Space Station and be used by all mankind. This is undoubtedly the best affirmation of the mainland's development in the field of aerospace.
In addition to the "Tiangong" space station, the success of the Chang'e lunar exploration project is also a major proof of the tremendous development made by the mainland in the field of aerospace.
The Chang'e lunar exploration project is a lunar exploration project that the mainland began to implement as early as 2004. In 2020, with the successful return of the Chang'e-5 probe and the return of land samples from the lunar surface, it marked another big step forward in the mainland's lunar exploration program.
With the continuous maturity of the Chang'e lunar exploration project, the mainland is initially expected to realize the "dream of sending astronauts to the moon" by 2030.
However, even though the mainland has made such progress in the aerospace field, Long Lehao, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, still said earnestly that the gap between China and the United States is "beyond imagination" when referring to the gap between China and the United States in aerospace development.
So on what basis did Academician Long Lehao say this, and is there really such a big development in the aerospace field between China and the United States?
The gap and future of space development between China and the United States
In terms of the development of the space field, the United States can be called the first country in the world to explore the space field.
As early as 1921, the United States began to carry out research on liquid rocket engines, and in 1926, it successfully test-fired the first rocket in human history that used liquid oxygen as fuel.
After the end of World War II, the United States became a veritable "world hegemon", which also enabled them to have more capital in the development of the aerospace field.
From 1945 to 1957, the United States conducted research and test launches of carrier rockets on the basis of military ballistic missiles, and finally took the lead in developing the "Pioneer" carrier rocket that could be used to launch satellites.
In contrast, it was not until 1970 that the mainland successfully launched the Long March 1 launch vehicle. In the research and development of launch vehicles, the mainland lags behind the United States by at least 20 years.
With the continuous maturity of the United States in the field of aerospace, in 1973, the United States launched the first orbital space laboratory in human history, which was also the earliest prototype of the space station.
On the other hand, our country did not successfully launch the "Tiangong" space station into space until 2021. It can be seen that the gap between China and the United States in the research and development of space station technology is likely to be close to 40 years!
In the most critical field of space development, the United States is the first and only country in the world to achieve astronauts landing on the moon, while the mainland has not yet achieved astronaut landing on the moon.
It can be seen from this that Academician Long Lehao believes that there is a big gap between China and the United States in the development of the aerospace field, and he is not alarmist.
But there's no need to worry too much about that. You must know that although the United States is much ahead of us in the development of the aerospace field, they have been deeply engaged in this field for more than 100 years.
In contrast, China's aerospace field has really developed, that is, in the past thirty or forty years. However, it is precisely in the past 30 or 40 years that the mainland has gradually caught up with and surpassed the level of aerospace development of most countries in the world, which is enough to prove China's huge potential in the field of aerospace development.
As the saying goes, "freezing three feet is not a day's cold," and if we want to truly catch up with the gap between China and the United States in aerospace development, the mainland still has a long way to go in the future.
What we need to do is to maintain a sense of danger at all times, continue to increase investment in the aerospace field in the future, and overcome related technical problems.
At present, the mainland's "Long March 9" carrier rocket is in full swing of research and development, and once it comes out, it is very likely to catch up with and surpass the United States in the carrier rocket.
Compared with the United States, we have an institutional advantage, and it is more convenient for us to "concentrate our efforts on doing great things." There is a gap, but as long as we face up to the gap and keep catching up, I believe that the great Chinese people will surely create another great miracle of development in the field of aerospace!
Resources:
"Chief Designer of China's Launch Vehicle: The Rocket That Surpasses the "Falcon Heavy" Only Awaits the Project!" - Global Network
"Academician Long Lehao: Looking forward to China's launch vehicles returning to the world's first echelon" - Science Network
"The first flight of the "Long March 9" plan in 2030 can meet the needs of manned lunar landing