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).[8]
In 1958, Mao formally announced the development of nuclear bombs, missiles and satellite.[7]
Soviet aid, its termination, and uranium enrichment
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 a prototype boosted fission weapon being supplied by Moscow to Beijing, technical data, and an exchange of hundreds of Russian and Chinese scientists.[12][13] 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.[14] 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.[15]
Sino-Soviet relations worsened in the late 1950s.[16][17] The Soviet Union withdrew the delivery of a prototype bomb[11] and over 1,400 Russian advisers and technicians involved in 200 scientific projects in China meant to foster cooperation between the two countries.[16]
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.[13] 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.[14]
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.[14][18]
Cultural Revolution
Yao Tongbin was a leading missile expert of the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" program. He was beaten to death in 1968 during the Cultural Revolution, among many others who were persecuted.
In 1966, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution. Academics and intellectuals were regarded as "Stinking Old Ninth" and were widely persecuted.[14] In 1968, among the leading scientists who worked on the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" program, Yao Tongbin was beaten to death, 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.[14]
The monument of the successful atomic detonation in Qinghai.
Ultimately, China developed the atomic and hydrogen bombs in record time.[29]: 218
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 (Chinese: 两弹一星功勋奖章).[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]
List of Two Bombs, One Satellite Meritorious Medal recipients
^"Qian Sanqiang". Atomic Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on 2020-02-20. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
^Crean, Jeffrey (2024). The Fear of Chinese Power: an International History. New Approaches to International History series. London, UK: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN978-1-350-23394-2.
^"我国制定《1956－1967年科学技术发展远景规划》". Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2013-06-09. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
^Norris, Robert S.; Burrows, Andrew S.; Fieldhouse, Richard W. (1994). Nuclear Weapons Databook, Vol. 5: British, French, and Chinese Nuclear Weapons. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Various conventions, treaties, agreements, memorandums, charters or declarations establishing and governing intergovernmental organisations or inter-agency bodies dealing with space affairs
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