Chinese Academy of Space Technology
The Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST), established on February 20, 1968, is a major research center and spacecraft development base. It has 12 research institutes and one factory, and has set up a complete and coordinated development and production system, comprising spacecraft system design, subsystem development and production, assembly, integration and test (AIT), environmental test, ground equipment and its application, and service and support.
The CAST developed and launched China's first artificial Earth satellite DFH-1 in April 1970, opening a new epoch in China's exploration in the outer space. To date the CAST has developed and launched over 70 satellites of various kinds and seven Shenzhou spaceships, including scientific and technological test satellites, communications and broadcasting satellites, meteorological satellites, recoverable remote sensing satellites and ocean satellites. Such technologies as satellite recovery, launching more than one satellites with one single rocket and positioning of geo-satellite have reached advanced world level. The CAST has just succeeded in developing six series of satellites, including remote those for sensing, communications, meteorology, earth resources investigation and navigation capably to fly in high, medium and low-height orbits.
In the fields of design, development and research, the CAST has opened a road of development for China’s space technology with Chinese characteristics, effecting the transformation from single project to multiple projects and from scientific test to series applications. The Shenzhou spaceship series has showcased China’s remarkable achievements in space science, life science and Earth observation, and significantly promoted the development of human spaceflight technology.
The CAST has established infrastructures for design, production and test of world-advanced level and systematic management system with quality management at the core. More than 2,000 new technological results developed by the CAST, such as heat pipe and high-resolution image, have been widely applied in a great number of economic fields, generating remarkable economic and social benefits.
Website: www.cast.cn
