The Beijing Space City (Beijing Hangtian Cheng) refers collectively to a group of space technology research, development, and test facilities located at Tangjialing in the northwest suburb of Beijing. Construction of the facilities was begun in October 1994 to support the Project 921 Manned Spaceflight Programme. Phase I construction was completed in 1997. Today, the facility has become the largest space R&D centre in the PRC.
A number of organisations and facilities are currently located inside the Beijing Space City, including:
China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) has moved its headquarters from the previous location at Zhongguancun in central Beijing to the east part of the space city. Its facilities include a headquarters building, a conference and exhibition centre, and a spacecraft assembly and test complex. Shenzhou manned spacecraft and other satellites are assembled and tested here before being airlifted to the launch sites.
China Astronaut Research & Training Centre, also known as Astronaut Centre of China (ACC), is responsible for the design and development of the astronaut system, environment control system, and the life support system for the Project 921 manned spaceflight programme. It is also the main training facility for the Chinese astronauts.
