The successful launch of the PRC’s first satellite DFH-1 in April 1970 greatly boosted PRC leaders’ confidence to send human into space. In July 1970, Chairman Mao Zedong approved the manned spaceflight programme, which aimed to carry out the first launch in late 1973. The programme was given a codename Project 714.
In April 1971, over four hundred scientists from across the country attended a conference held in Beijing to evaluate the design of the Shuguang 1 spacecraft. Similar to the U.S. Gemini spacecraft, Shuguang 1 was a capsule design capable of carrying two astronauts. The spacecraft was to be launched by the CZ-2 launch vehicle based on the DF-5 intercontinental-range ballistic missile (ICBM). A new space launch centre also began construction in Xichang, Sichuan Province to support the manned spaceflight mission.
In August, the Beijing Research Institute of Space Medical Engineering
was instructed to start the selection process for astronaut candidates. The PLA also formed the 714 Office to oversee and coordinate the process. Over 1,800 active-duty fighter pilots from the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) were sent to Beijing for a highly secretive and strict screening process. As well as being perfectly fit in physical and mental conditions, the astronaut candidates must also be regarded as “politically reliable”. By March 1971, twenty finalists were chosen to take part in the astronaut training programme.
The Project 714 faced enormous difficulties since day one. Various technical obstacles, coupled with political turmoil of the Culture Revolution and serious lack of funding, finally resulted in the cancellation of the project in 1975. Premier Zhou Enlai told the party that China should not join the USA and USSR in their space race, and that the country should take care of things on the Earth first. The astronaut candidates were released from the project and returned to their original units. The #1 launch pad intended for manned spaceflight at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre was also abandoned.
Despite of the cancellation of the Project 714, the PRC’s space programme continued. On 26 November 1975, the first FSW recoverable satellite was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre using a CZ-2 launch vehicle, and was successfully recovered two days later. A further two successful flight missions followed in 1976 and 1978. The FSW technology formed the basis of the Chinese manned spacecraft.
The end of the Culture Revolution and the recovery of the country’s economy in the late 1970s brought fresh hope to the manned spaceflight programme. In February 1978, the PRC space official disclosed for the first time that the country had been carrying out research on human spaceflight. In January, 1980 the Chinese press reported a visit to the astronaut training centre. Photographs showed astronaut trainees wearing pressure suit in pressure chamber tests. Other trainees were shown at the controls of a space shuttle-like cockpit.
However, this effort could not revive the manned spaceflight programme, as the country’s new leader Deng Xiaoping determined to give priority to the economic development. In December 1980, an official of the CAS confirmed that the manned spaceflight programme had been postponed due to its costs.
A 1980s photo showing a Chinese astronaut trainee wearing spacesuit in the pressure chamber tests (Source: Chinese Internet)
Another 1980s photo showing two astronaut trainees in a space shuttle-style cockpit (Source: Chinese Internet)
