Two Bombs, One Satellite was a nuclear weapon, intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), and artificial satellite development program by the People's Republic of China. China detonated its first fission and first thermonuclear weapons in 1964 and 1967 respectively, combined a nuclear weapon with a surface-to-surface missile in 1966, and successfully launched its first satellite in 1970.[1] [2]
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.[3] [4] [5]
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.[6] 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).[7]
In 1958, Mao formally announced the development of nuclear bombs, missiles and satellite.[8]
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.[9] [10] [11]
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 an atomic bomb prototype being supplied by Moscow to Beijing, technical data, and an exchange of hundreds of Russian and Chinese scientists.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14]
Sino-Soviet relations worsened in the late 1950s.[15] [16] 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.[17] 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.[18] Eventually, in November 1962, a central committee led by Zhou Enlai, Nie Rongzhen and others was established, and the project was carried on.
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 and Zhao Jiuzhang committed suicide,[19] [20] and Guo Yonghuai was killed in a plane crash.[21] 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.[22] Many researchers with overseas education background (especially from the United States and the United Kingdom) were regarded as "spies".[23] 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.
Ultimately, China developed the atomic and hydrogen bombs in record time.[29]
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".[30] Deng emphasized that knowledge and talented people must be respected, and the wrong thought of disrespecting intellectuals must be opposed.[31]
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.[32]
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 .[33] [34] In 2015, the "Two Bombs, One Satellite Memorial Museum" was opened on the Huairou campus of the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.[35]
| Awardee | Field | Contribution | Alma mater | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chen Fangyun (1916–2000) | Radio electronics | Satellite | National Southwestern Associated University | |
| Chen Nengkuan (1923–2016) | Metal physics Detonation physics | Atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb | National Tangshan Engineering College Yale University | |
| Cheng Kaijia (1918–2018) | Nuclear physics | Atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb | Zhejiang University University of Edinburgh | |
| Deng Jiaxian (1924–1986) | Nuclear physics | Atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb | National Southwestern Associated University Purdue University | |
| Guo Yonghuai (1909–1968) | Aerodynamics | Atomic bomb, hydrogen bomb and missile | Peking University University of Toronto California Institute of Technology | |
| Huang Weilu (1916–2011) | Engineering cybernetics | Missile | National Central University Imperial College London | |
| Peng Huanwu (1915–2007) | Theoretical physics | Atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb | Tsinghua University University of Edinburgh | |
| Qian Ji (1917–1983) | Space physics | Satellite | National Central University | |
| Qian Sanqiang (1913–1992) | Nuclear physics | Atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb | Tsinghua University University of Paris Collège de France | |
| Qian Xuesen (1911–2009) | Aeronautics Engineering cybernetics | Rocket, missile and satellite | National Chiao Tung University Massachusetts Institute of Technology California Institute of Technology | |
| Ren Xinmin (1915–2017) | Aeronautics | Rocket, missile and satellite | National Central University Chongqing Ordnance School affiliated to Military Ministry University of Michigan | |
| Sun Jiadong (1929–) | Aeronautics | Missile and satellite | Harbin Institute of Technology Zhukovsky Air Force Academy | |
| Tu Shou'e (1917–2012) | Aeronautics | Missile and rocket | National Southwestern Associated University Massachusetts Institute of Technology | |
| Wang Daheng (1915–2011) | Optics | Atomic bomb and satellite | Tsinghua University Imperial College London University of Sheffield | |
| Wang Ganchang (1907–1998) | Nuclear physics | Atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb | Tsinghua University University of Berlin | |
| Wang Xiji (1921–) | Space technology | Rocket and satellite | National Southwestern Associated University Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | |
| Wu Ziliang (1917–2008) | Chemical metallurgy | Atomic bomb | National Northwestern Engineering Institute Carnegie Institute of Technology | |
| Yang Jiachi (1919–2006) | Automation | Satellite | National Chiao Tung University Harvard University | |
| Yao Tongbin (1922–1968) | Aerospace materials and technology | Missile and rocket | National Tangshan Engineering College University of Birmingham | |
| Yu Min (1926–2019) | Nuclear physics | Hydrogen bomb | Peking University | |
| Zhao Jiuzhang (1907–1968) | Meteorology Geophysics | Satellite | Tsinghua University University of Berlin | |
| Zhou Guangzhao (1929–2024) | Theoretical physics | Atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb | Tsinghua University Peking University | |
| Zhu Guangya (1924–2011) | Nuclear physics | Atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb | National Southwestern Associated University University of Michigan |