China’s Space Program Soars中國太空計劃飛升騰實

王福權　陳海東

The country didn’t send an astronaut into space until 2003. But now it’s catching up. China is quickly becoming one of the most ambitious and pioneering nations when it comes to exploring space. The Chinese space program is one of the fastest-growing in the world today.

From its relatively humble beginnings 60 years ago， the Chinese program has come to be one of the biggest contenders in the modern-day space race. Between its inception1 in the late 1950s and the turn of the century， the program experienced a gradual buildup2 in terms of technology， infrastructure and capability. In time， this would set the stage for3 China becoming an official major power in space. By 2003， the first crewed mission to Earth orbit was successfully launched. That same year， the China National Space Agency （CNSA） inaugurated the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program4 which envisaged sending a series of robotic missions to the moon in preparation for an eventual crewed mission.

Early this year， China became the first country to land a probe on the far side of the moon. It is a technical achievement that neither the United States nor Russia has pursued. It is symbolic of the growth of the Chinese space program and the capabilities it has amassed， and the consequences extend to the US as that country’s government considers global competition in the future of space exploration.

The CNSA is arguably the fastest-rising space agency in the world. The Chinese space program has grown considerably in the past two decades and has been mounting5 increasingly advanced and ambitious missions accordingly. Since its inception in the late 1950s， and its re-formation in the early 1990s， China’s program has made some very impressive accomplishments and has established the country as the third-largest space power.

Late last year， China unveiled a heavy-lift launch vehicle to carry a next-generation crewed spacecraft and power human spaceflight missions beyond low Earth orbit6. It will be designed to send 25 metric tons to trans-lunar injection7 and 70 tons to low Earth orbit. While apparently in the early stages and with the upcoming Chinese Space Station commanding attention and resources， the designs signal a clear intent to develop capabilities for human spaceflight beyond LEO.

The development of launch-vehicle concepts is a clear indication that there is serious thought in China about human exploration of the moon. The new spacecraft and new crew-rated launcher with their reusability features to challenge Elon Musk’s SpaceX， Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin， and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic will be expected to replace the Shenzhou and Long March 2F for LEO missions as well as put the moon within reach.

Space bases

Colonizing the moon， and beyond， has long being a human aspiration. The world is still celebrating the historic landing of China’s Chang’e-4 on the far side of the moon early this year. China announced its plans to follow up with three more lunar missions， laying the groundwork for8 a lunar base. Technological advancements， and the discovery of a considerable source of water close to the lunar poles， have made this idea even more appealing. But how close is China to actually achieving this goal？

Building a lunar base is no different from building the first oil rig out in the ocean. If we focus on the technology currently available， China could start building a base on the moon right now. Of all the possible technologies for building a lunar base， 3D printing offers the most effective strategy. Three-dimensional printing on Earth has revolutionized manufacturing productivity and efficiency， reducing both waste and cost.

China’s vision is to develop the capability to 3D-print both inside and outside of the lunar base. This technology has the potential to make everything from daily items to repair parts for the base. But 3D printing in space is a real challenge. It will require new technologies that can operate in the micro-gravity9 environment of the moon. Printing machines that are able to shape parts in the vacuum of space must be developed.

Can China build a lunar base？ Absolutely. Can human beings survive on the moon and on other planets for the long term？ The answer to that is less clear. What is certain is that China will use the next 10 to 15 years to develop the requisite10 technical capabilities for conducting manned lunar missions and set the stage for space exploration.

Long March series

China launched its 300th Long March rocket mission， successfully placing the new communications satellite ChinaSat 6C into orbit. The Long March series is not China’s only rocket family， but it is responsible for more than 96% of the country’s launches.

China’s first Long March rocket， the Long March 1， was launched on April 24， 1970， carrying the country’s first satellite. It took China 37 years to launch its first 100 Long March missions. The next 100 followed in just over seven years， with the final 100 missions launching in the last four years.

China carried out 37 launches in 2018， all successful， including the Chang’e-4 mission to the lunar far side， the first Hongyan LEO communications satellite， and 18 Beidou satellites， as well as science， weather， communications and remote sensing satellites for a range of civilian and military applications. The greatly increased cadence11 saw China account for roughly a third of the 103 global launches in 2018， putting it ahead of the US and Russia for the first time， as the country continues to establish a range of space-based infrastructure and capabilities.

China opened the space market to private-sector investment in 2014 to help its technology sector shift focus from commodity smartphones and televisions to sophisticated semiconductors， artificial intelligence， and reusable rockets. More than 60 Chinese companies have entered the commercial space industry in the past three years.

Another development of interest is China’s work in quantum satellites. Priorities include unconditional security of network data across long distances， ultimately creating a global quantum network of classical data secured by quantum cryptographic keys. Other areas where China is concentrating significant research and development resources include nuclear fusion， and the deployment and hardening of an expanding hypersonic12 technology.

China is also developing constellations of surveillance， navigation and communication satellites， and making considerable progress in space lift， human spaceflight， and lunar exploration programs. China hopes to expand its launch-vehicle industry to support commercial launches and make rapid satellite launch services available to foreign customers. It will probably launch， assemble in-orbit， and operate a crewed Chinese space station before 2025.

China’s space program continues to mature rapidly. In terms of space exploration， China has demonstrated significant skills.

及至2003年，中國才將宇航員送入太空，時下正在迎頭趕上。在太空探測領域，中國突飛猛進，正在成為最具雄心和開拓精神的國家之一。中國太空計劃的發(fā)展速度居全球領先之列。

中國的太空計劃始于60年前，起點相對較低，如今卻是現(xiàn)代太空競賽中最具競爭力的計劃之一。從1950年代末肇始到世紀之交，該計劃在技術、基礎設施和綜合能力等方面漸進累積。隨著時間推移，這將為中國正式成為太空強國奠定基礎。2003年，中國成功將第一艘載人飛船送入地球軌道。同年，中國國家航天局開啟了“中國探月工程”，其構想是向月球發(fā)送一系列著陸機器人，為最終實現(xiàn)載人登月做好準備。

今年早些時候，中國成為第一個在月球背面著陸探測器的國家。這一技術成就是美國和俄羅斯所未取得的，也是中國太空計劃厚積薄發(fā)的標志。其影響力延伸到美國，隨之該國政府將未來太空探測計劃納入全球競爭之列。

可以說，中國國家航天局是全球發(fā)展最快的航天機構。過去20年里，中國的太空計劃取得了長足發(fā)展，并據(jù)此持續(xù)實施了日益先進和頗具雄心的探測任務。中國的航天計劃肇始于1950年代末，重組于1990年代初，迄今已取得了一些令人印象至深的成就，確立了世界第三大太空強國的地位。

去年晚些時候，中國公布了一款重型運載火箭，用于搭載下一代載人宇宙飛船，并為近地軌道以外的載人航天飛行任務提供動力。月球轉移軌道設計運載能力25噸，近地軌道設計運載能力70噸。這些設計顯然尚處于初期階段，即期的中國空間站也需要給予關注、投入資源，盡管如此，中國發(fā)展近地軌道以外載人航天能力的決心清晰可見。

運載火箭概念的發(fā)展清楚地表明，中國十分重視人類探測月球之舉。新研發(fā)的宇宙飛船和載人發(fā)射裝置具有可復用性，將對埃隆·馬斯克的“太空探索”、杰夫·貝佐斯的“藍色之源”以及理查德·布蘭森的“維珍銀河”等公司構成挑戰(zhàn)，可望替代神舟系列和長征2F運載火箭執(zhí)行近地軌道飛行任務，也使月球不再遙不可及。

空間站

長期以來，在月球乃至更遠的星球聚居是人類的向往。今年早些時候，中國“嫦娥四號”探測器在月球背面著陸。時下，全球仍對這一歷史性壯舉稱贊不已。中國宣布了后續(xù)三次探月任務計劃，為建立月球基地打好基礎?？萍嫉倪M步以及靠近月球兩極豐富水源的發(fā)現(xiàn)，使這一構想更具吸引力。但中國離真正實現(xiàn)這一目標還有多遠呢？

建造月球基地無異于在海上建造首座石油鉆塔。如果集中運用現(xiàn)有技術，中國當下就可著手建造。建造月球基地可能用到的所有技術當中，3D打印是最為高效的手段。全球的3D打印徹底改變了制造業(yè)的生產(chǎn)能力和效率，從而減少了浪費和成本。

中國的愿景是發(fā)展3D打印月球基地內(nèi)外部的能力。這一技術的潛在優(yōu)勢在于能夠制造基地所需的一切，從日常用品到維修部件，不一而足。但實現(xiàn)太空3D打印確非易事，這需要能在月球微重力環(huán)境下運行的新技術，而且必須研發(fā)出能在太空真空條件下制造零件的打印機。

中國能建成月球基地嗎？答案是肯定的。人類能在月球和其他星球上長期生存嗎？答案尚不明晰?？梢钥隙ǖ氖?，中國在未來10到15年將發(fā)展載人登月任務必需的綜合技術能力，為探測太空做好準備。

長征運載火箭系列

中國發(fā)射了第三百枚長征火箭，成功將新型通信衛(wèi)星“中星6C”送入軌道。長征系列并非中國唯一的火箭家族，但卻承擔了96%以上的發(fā)射任務。

1970年4月24日，中國第一枚長征火箭“長征一號”搭載首顆衛(wèi)星發(fā)射升空。此后 37年，中國完成了首個100次發(fā)射任務。接下來的100次發(fā)射僅用了7年多時間。近4年完成了其余100次發(fā)射任務。

2018年，中國進行了37次發(fā)射，并且全獲成功，其中有“嫦娥四號”登月任務、首顆紅巖近地軌道通信衛(wèi)星和18顆北斗衛(wèi)星，以及一系列民用和軍用科學、氣象、通信和遙感衛(wèi)星。中國的節(jié)奏大幅加快，隨著一系列太空基礎設施和綜合能力的持續(xù)建設，2018年全球103次發(fā)射中，中國大概占據(jù)1/3，首次超過美國和俄羅斯。

2014年，中國向民營投資開放太空市場，以幫助民企技術部門將重心從智能手機和電視等商品轉移到精密半導體、人工智能以及可復用的火箭上來。過去3年已有60多家中國公司進軍商業(yè)航天領域。

另一個令人感興趣的是中國在量子衛(wèi)星方面所開展的工作，首要任務包括遠距離網(wǎng)絡數(shù)據(jù)的無條件安全性，其最終目的是創(chuàng)建一個由量子密鑰保護的經(jīng)典數(shù)據(jù)全球量子網(wǎng)絡。中國正在匯聚巨大研發(fā)資源的其他領域包括核聚變以及部署和強化發(fā)展中的極超音速技術。

中國還在研發(fā)一系列監(jiān)測、導航和通信衛(wèi)星，且在太空梯、載人航天、探月工程等方面取得了重大進展。中國希望擴大運載火箭產(chǎn)業(yè)以支持商業(yè)發(fā)射，并向外國客戶提供快捷的衛(wèi)星發(fā)射服務。2025年之前，中國可能會發(fā)射載人空間站，實現(xiàn)在軌組裝并投入運行。

中國的太空計劃持續(xù)、快速地走向成熟，在太空探測方面已展現(xiàn)出不凡的技術水準。

（譯者單位：廣東外語外貿(mào)大學高級翻譯學院）

1 inception起始;開端。此處指1956年中國成立航空工業(yè)委員會。? 2 buildup逐步增長或累積的過程。? 3 set the stage for為……做好準備，為……打好基礎。? 4中國探月工程，又稱“嫦娥工程”，分為“無人月球探測”“載人登月”和“建立月球基地”三個階段。

5 mount組織安排。? 6 low Earth orbit = LEO低地軌道，指航天器距離地面高度較低的軌道，一般高度在2000公里以下。? 7 trans-lunar injection月球轉移軌道射入，即太空船與火箭分離之后被射向月球的過程。

8 lay the groundwork for為……打好基礎。

9 micro-gravity微重力，指在重力的作用下，系統(tǒng)的表觀重量遠小于其實際重量。? 10 requisite必需的，不可或缺的。

11 cadence節(jié)奏。

12 hypersonic極超音速，指物體的速度超過5倍音速，約合每小時6000公里以上。