Two Bombs, One Satellite

File:Nie Rongzhen in Moscow in 1957.jpg (left) with Chinese officials in Moscow (1957).]]

In the 1940s and 1950s, a group of notable scientists including Qian Weichang, Qian Xuesen, Deng Jiaxian, Peng Huanwu and Qian Sanqiang returned to mainland China.{{Cite web|last=Hvistendahl|first=Mara|date=2018-03-14|title=A revered rocket scientist set in motion China's mass surveillance of its citizens|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/revered-rocket-scientist-set-motion-china-s-mass-surveillance-its-citizens|access-date=2020-07-15|website=Science|language=en|archive-date=2021-12-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206020816/https://www.science.org/content/article/revered-rocket-scientist-set-motion-china-s-mass-surveillance-its-citizens|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Deng Jiaxian|url=http://www.china.org.cn/china/60th_anniversary_people/2009-09/17/content_18546772.htm|access-date=2020-07-15|website=China Internet Information Center|archive-date=2022-06-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626023855/http://www.china.org.cn/china/60th_anniversary_people/2009-09/17/content_18546772.htm|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Qian Sanqiang|url=https://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/qian-sanqiang|access-date=2020-07-15|website=Atomic Heritage Foundation|language=en|archive-date=2020-02-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220203747/https://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/qian-sanqiang|url-status=live}}

United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower's threats during the First Taiwan Strait Crisis to use nuclear weapons against military targets in Fujian province prompted Mao to begin China's nuclear program.{{Cite book |last=Crean |first=Jeffrey |title=The Fear of Chinese Power: an International History |date=2024 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-350-23394-2 |edition= |series=New Approaches to International History series |location=London, UK}}{{Rp|pages=89–90}} In January 1955, Mao Zedong expressed the intention of developing atomic bombs during a meeting of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party.

In 1956, hundreds of experts were called by Zhou Enlai, Chen Yi, Li Fuchun and Nie Rongzhen to make plans for China's scientific development, eventually creating an outline of development for the period from 1956 to 1967 (1956-1967年科学技术发展远景规划纲要).{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=我国制定《1956－1967年科学技术发展远景规划》|url=http://www.most.gov.cn/kjfz/kjzg60dsj/200909/t20090914_72857.htm|access-date=2020-07-14|website=Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China|language=zh|archive-date=2013-06-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130609053715/http://www.most.gov.cn/kjfz/kjzg60dsj/200909/t20090914_72857.htm|url-status=live}}

In 1958, Mao formally announced the development of nuclear bombs, missiles and satellite.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2013-05-27|title=毛泽东与两弹一星|url=http://dangshi.people.com.cn/n/2013/0527/c85037-21624030.html|access-date=2020-07-14|website=Renmin Wang|language=zh|archive-date=2020-07-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715234404/http://dangshi.people.com.cn/n/2013/0527/c85037-21624030.html|url-status=live}}

File:20120729青海湖西海镇中国原子弹爆炸纪念碑 - panoramio.jpg.|left]]

At the same time, the Soviet Union had provided China with important assistance since 1955, even though on December 10, 1957, the Soviet Union proposed that the United States, the United Kingdom, and the USSR should halt nuclear weapons tests for the next two to three years, to which China supported.{{Cite web|title=Sino-Soviet Nuclear Relations: An Alliance of Convenience? {{!}} Wilson Center|url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/sino-soviet-nuclear-relations-alliance-convenience|access-date=2020-07-15|website=www.wilsoncenter.org|language=en|archive-date=2020-07-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715010726/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/sino-soviet-nuclear-relations-alliance-convenience|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Chinese Nuclear Program|url=https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/chinese-nuclear-program|access-date=2020-07-14|website=Atomic Heritage Foundation|language=en|archive-date=2020-08-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806132531/https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/chinese-nuclear-program|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=周恩来与"两弹一星"人才建设|url=http://www.yhcqw.com/33/12698.html|access-date=2020-07-14|website=Yanhuang Chunqiu|archive-date=2019-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025035636/http://www.yhcqw.com/33/12698.html|url-status=live}}

In 1956, the Third Ministry of Machinery Building was established, and nuclear research was conducted at the Institute of Physics and Atomic Energy in Beijing. A gaseous diffusion uranium enrichment plant was constructed in Lanzhou. In 1957, China and the USSR signed an agreement on sharing defense technology that involved a prototype boosted fission weapon being supplied by Moscow to Beijing, technical data, and an exchange of hundreds of Russian and Chinese scientists.[http://www.nti.org/learn/countries/china/nuclear/ "China | Nuclear"]. Nuclear Threat Initiative. April 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2017. A joint search for uranium in China was conducted between the two countries. A location near Lake Lop Nur in Xinjiang was selected to be the test site with its headquarters at Malan. Construction of the test site began on 1 April 1960, involving tens of thousands of laborers and prisoners under tough conditions.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=周恩来与中央专门委员会--周恩来纪念网|url=http://zhouenlai.people.cn/n1/2018/0528/c409117-30018296.html|access-date=2020-07-14|website=Renmin Wang|archive-date=2019-10-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024215605/http://zhouenlai.people.cn/n1/2018/0528/c409117-30018296.html|url-status=live}} It took four years to complete. Being the sole site for nuclear testing in China for years to come, the Lop Nur test site underwent extensive expansion and is by far the world's largest nuclear weapons test site, covering around 100,000 square kilometers.[http://www.nti.org/learn/facilities/710/ "Lop Nor Nuclear Weapons Test Base | Facilities"]. Nuclear Threat Initiative. Retrieved 2017-06-02.

Sino-Soviet relations worsened in the late 1950s.[https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/one-fingers-worth-historical-events-new-russian-and-chinese-evidence-the-sino-soviet ""One Finger's Worth of Historical Events": New Russian and Chinese Evidence on the Sino-Soviet Alliance and Split, 1948–1959"]. Wilson Center. 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2017-06-02.Lewis, John Wilson and Xue Litai. China Builds the Bomb. (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988), 63–66. The Soviet Union withdrew the delivery of a prototype bomb and over 1,400 Russian advisers and technicians involved in 200 scientific projects in China meant to foster cooperation between the two countries.

After Nikita Khrushchev decided to stop helping the Chinese with their nuclear program on 20 June 1959, Mao shifted toward an overall policy of self-reliance. Project 596, named after the month of June 1959, was initiated as an independent nuclear project. The Second Ministry of Machine Building Industry, which oversaw China's nuclear industry, continued with the development of an atomic bomb.{{cite web |last1=Zhang |first1=Hui |date=11 April 2024 |title=The short march to China’s hydrogen bomb |url=https://thebulletin.org/2024/04/the-short-march-to-chinas-hydrogen-bomb/ |website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists}} By 14 January 1964, enough fissionable U-235 had been successfully enriched from the Lanzhou plant. On 16 October 1964, a uranium-235 fission implosion device, weighing 1550 kilograms was detonated on a 102-meter tower.

In 1961–62, there was a disagreement among senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government on whether China should continue with the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" project.{{Cite web|last=Song|first=Chundan|date=|title=1962：在两弹一星的"至暗"时刻|url=http://news.inewsweek.cn/special/2019-10-10/7205.shtml|access-date=2020-07-14|website=Week In China|archive-date=2020-07-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714210816/http://news.inewsweek.cn/special/2019-10-10/7205.shtml|url-status=live}} Eventually, in November 1962, a central committee led by Zhou Enlai, Nie Rongzhen and others was established, and the project was carried on.

File:Yao Tongbin.jpg was a leading missile expert of the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" program. He was beaten to death in 1968 during the Cultural Revolution, among many others who were persecuted.]]

In 1966, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution. Academics and intellectuals were regarded as "Stinking Old Ninth" and were widely persecuted. In 1968, among the leading scientists who worked on the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" program, Yao Tongbin was beaten to death, Zhao Jiuzhang committed suicide,{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title="两弹一星"元勋姚桐斌|url=http://mjlsh.usc.cuhk.edu.hk/Book.aspx?cid=4&tid=4577|access-date=2020-07-14|website=Chinese University of Hong Kong|language=zh|archive-date=2020-07-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716235712/http://mjlsh.usc.cuhk.edu.hk/Book.aspx?cid=4&tid=4577|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Centennial held in Beijing in memory of ZHAO Jiuzhang|url=http://english.cas.cn/newsroom/archive/news_archive/nu2007/201502/t20150215_138640.shtml|access-date=2020-07-14|website=Chinese Academy of Sciences|archive-date=2020-07-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714220129/http://english.cas.cn/newsroom/archive/news_archive/nu2007/201502/t20150215_138640.shtml|url-status=live}} and Guo Yonghuai was killed in a plane crash.{{Cite web|last=Chen|first=Ziyan|date=|title=Two asteroids named after well-known Chinese scholar couple|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201808/09/WS5b6bffbaa310add14f384ee9.html|access-date=2020-07-14|website=China Daily|archive-date=2020-07-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715142605/https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201808/09/WS5b6bffbaa310add14f384ee9.html|url-status=live}} By September 1971, more than 4,000 staff members of China's nuclear center in Qinghai were persecuted. More than 310 of them were permanently disabled, over 40 people committed suicide, and five were executed.{{Cite web|last=Wang|first=Jingheng|date=|title=青海核武基地的劫难|url=http://www.yhcqw.com/36/9207.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714221024/http://www.yhcqw.com/36/9207.html|archive-date=2020-07-14|access-date=2020-07-14|website=Yanhuang Chunqiu|language=zh}} Many researchers with overseas education background (especially from the United States and the United Kingdom) were regarded as "spies".{{Cite web|last=Yan|first=Jing|date=2014-08-16|title=王大珩：邓小平口中的"扫厕所专家"|url=http://news.sohu.com/20140816/n403498003.shtml|access-date=2020-07-14|website=Sohu|language=zh|archive-date=2019-10-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024214123/http://news.sohu.com/20140816/n403498003.shtml|url-status=live}} Only a few scientists including Qian Xuesen were protected in the Revolution because of a special list made by Premier Zhou Enlai (approved by Mao) in August 1966.

• On October 16, 1964, China's first atomic bomb was successfully detonated in Lop Nur (code-name "Project 596"), making China the fifth country in the world to possess nuclear weapons.
• On October 27, 1966, China's first surface-to-surface missile (Dongfeng-2) carrying nuclear bomb was successfully launched and detonated.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=1966: China launches its first nuclear missile|url=http://www.china.org.cn/china/18th_cpc_congress/2012-10/27/content_26903288.htm|access-date=2020-07-14|website=China Internet Information Center|archive-date=2020-08-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812151758/http://www.china.org.cn/china/18th_cpc_congress/2012-10/27/content_26903288.htm|url-status=live}}
• On June 17, 1967, China's first hydrogen bomb was successfully detonated in Lop Nur (code-name "Test No. 6").{{Cite web|last=Peng|first=Jichao|title=中国第一颗氢弹的研发与爆炸|url=http://www.yhcqw.com/33/12696.html|access-date=2020-07-14|website=Yanhuang Chunqiu|archive-date=2019-10-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024212920/http://www.yhcqw.com/33/12696.html|url-status=live}}
• On September 22, 1969, China's first underground nuclear test was successfully detonated in Lop Nur.{{cite book| last1=Norris| first1=Robert S.| first2=Andrew S.| last2=Burrows| first3=Richard W.| last3=Fieldhouse| year=1994| title=Nuclear Weapons Databook, Vol. 5: British, French, and Chinese Nuclear Weapons| publisher=Westview Press| location=Boulder, CO}}{{cite web| date=June 1998| title=China's nuclear tests: dates, yields, types, methods, and comments| publisher=Center for Nonproliferation Studies| url=http://cns.miis.edu/archive/country_china/coxrep/testlist.htm| access-date=20 January 2014| archive-url=https://archive.today/20131205083146/http://cns.miis.edu/archive/country_china/coxrep/testlist.htm| archive-date=5 December 2013| url-status=dead}}
• On April 24, 1970, China's first satellite (Dong Fang Hong I) was successfully launched into space, making China the fifth nation to put a spacecraft into orbit using its own rocket.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=PRC1: NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1970-034A|access-date=2020-07-14|website=NASA|archive-date=2022-12-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219171121/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1970-034A|url-status=live}}

Ultimately, China developed the atomic and hydrogen bombs in record time.{{Cite book |last=Jin |first=Keyu |title=The New China Playbook: Beyond Socialism and Capitalism |date=2023 |publisher=Viking |isbn=978-1-9848-7828-1 |location=New York |author-link=Keyu Jin}}{{Rp|page=218}}

After the Cultural Revolution, Deng Xiaoping became the new paramount leader of China and started the "Boluan Fanzheng" program. Scientists and intellectuals were rehabilitated and, in particular, Yao Tongbin was honored as a "martyr".{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2013-03-11|title=记"两弹一星"元勋姚桐斌：助推中国火箭上天|url=http://military.china.com.cn/2013-03/11/content_28205346_4.htm|access-date=2020-07-14|website=China Internet Information Center|language=zh|archive-date=2019-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025053720/http://military.china.com.cn/2013-03/11/content_28205346_4.htm|url-status=dead}} Deng emphasized that knowledge and talented people must be respected, and the wrong thought of disrespecting intellectuals must be opposed.{{Cite web|last=Shen|first=Qianfang|date=2019-01-30|title=邓小平: 尊重知识, 尊重人才|url=http://cpc.people.com.cn/n1/2019/0130/c69113-30597816.html|access-date=2020-07-14|website=Renmin Wang|language=zh|archive-date=2019-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025054101/http://cpc.people.com.cn/n1/2019/0130/c69113-30597816.html|url-status=live}}

In 1986, four leading scientists who had worked on the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" program proposed to Deng that China must stimulate the development of advanced technologies. Upon Deng's approval, the "863 Program" was launched.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2016-03-05|title=National High-tech R&D Program (863 Program)|url=http://newyork.china-consulate.org/eng/kjsw/std/t1345403.htm|access-date=2020-07-14|website=Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in New York|archive-date=2020-07-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714212323/http://newyork.china-consulate.org/eng/kjsw/std/t1345403.htm|url-status=live}}

In 1999, twenty-three scientists who had made significant contributions in the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" program were awarded the Two Bombs and One Satellite Merit Award ({{zh|links=no|c=两弹一星功勋奖章}}).{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=1964: "Two bombs and one satellite" launch successfully|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012cpc/2010-09/26/content_15842192.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630065444/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012cpc/2010-09/26/content_15842192.htm|archive-date=30 June 2016|accessdate=31 May 2016|website=China Daily}}{{cite web|last=|first=|date=2002-09-22|title=两弹一星|url=http://www.china.com.cn/chinese/zhuanti/208165.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130052500/http://www.china.com.cn/chinese/zhuanti/208165.htm|archive-date=30 January 2019|accessdate=31 May 2016|website=China Internet Information Center|language=zh}} In 2015, the "Two Bombs, One Satellite Memorial Museum" was opened on the Huairou campus of the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.{{Cite web|date=2015-09-03|title=China builds "two bombs, one satellite" memorial museum|url=http://english.chinamil.com.cn/news-channels/2015-09/13/content_6679273.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113121028/http://english.chinamil.com.cn/news-channels/2015-09/13/content_6679273.htm|archive-date=2018-01-13|access-date=2019-02-06|website=China Military Online}}

• China and weapons of mass destruction
• List of nuclear weapons tests of China
• Chinese space program
• 863 Program
• Shenzhou 5
• Chang'e 3
• Tiangong-1

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/chinese-nuclear-program Chinese Nuclear Program.] Atomic Heritage Foundation. July 19, 2018.
• [https://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/qian-xuesen Qian Xuesen]. Atomic Heritage Foundation.
• [https://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/qian-sanqiang Qian Sanqiang]. Atomic Heritage Foundation.
• [http://www.china.org.cn/china/60th_anniversary_people/2009-09/17/content_18546772.htm Deng Jiaxian]. China.org.cn.
• [http://newsen.pku.edu.cn/news_events/news/people/8893.htm Yu Min: The father of China’s hydrogen bomb]. Peking University. September 29, 2019.

{{Two Bombs, One Satellite Meritorious Medal recipients}}

{{Politics of outer space}}

Category:Military history of the People's Republic of China

Category:Nuclear program of the People's Republic of China

Category:History of science and technology in China

Category:Nuclear history of China

Category:Space program of the People's Republic of China

Category:Persecution of intellectuals in China

Category:Cold War military history of China