From Peenemünde to Beijing: The People’s Republic of China on Its Long March into Space

This article describes the emergence of the Chinese space program, whose origins owe less to lunar fever in the late 1960s than to the transnational networking of its actors. Qian Xuesen, the father of the Chinese space program, played a central role in the globe-spanning transfer of knowledge during the Cold War era. After a distinguished career in U.S. rocket development beginning in the 1940s, he was suspected of espionage during the McCarthy era and, after diplomatic intervention, was able to return to the People’s Republic of China in 1955. Celebrated for his achievements in building and developing China’s space program, he is now considered not only a national hero but also a central reference point in China’s contemporary lunar fever.