In parallel, the Wenchang International Aerospace Forum was organizedHAIKOU /China/, November 24.
/tass/. The authorities of Hainan province held a Chinese cosmonautics conference this week, which was attended by leading experts from China. This was reported by the newspaper "Hainan Zhibao".
According to the publication, the Wenchang International Aerospace Forum was organized in parallel. Their opening ceremony took place in the administrative center of Hainan, the city of Haikou.
The event was attended by Deputy Governor of the province Shen Danyang, Deputy Ministry of Industry and Informatization, Head of the Chinese National Space Administration (CASC) Zhang Kejian, Director General of the Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Zhang Zhongyang. Christian Feichtinger, Executive Director of the International Astronautical Federation, addressed the conference participants with a video message.
Among the guests of the forum were the head of the department of the international space campus in Wenchang (northeast of Hainan) Liu Chun, representatives of the local administration, members of the leadership of other provinces of China. During the conference, honorary awards were presented to some specialists and structural units dealing with the problems of cosmonautics. In addition, the event "My Dream of Space" was held, where participants got acquainted with paintings and drawings dedicated to the exploration of the Universe.
"The Wenchang cosmodrome has a mission to launch a new generation of Chinese launch vehicles," Zhang Kejian said. - Hainan is actively building an international space campus, implementing a strategy to create an innovative scientific and technical platform for space research. This is an important harbor of the People's Republic of China for deep space exploration."
The head of CASC recalled that it was thanks to Hainan that missions were carried out to launch the Chang'e-5 research vehicle and the Tianwen-1 Mars exploration probe to the Moon. "Our department is ready for closer cooperation with all public circles, both in China and abroad," he added.
The role of Hainan in the development of Chinese cosmonautics
As Shen Danyang noted at the conference, in accordance with the task set by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Hainan Free Trade Port will play an increasingly important role in the implementation of national aerospace projects. "Our province will accelerate the creation of China's first cosmodrome designed for commercial projects," he promised.
The official said that in parallel, Hainan is activating the formation of an efficient production chain in the aerospace industry. In addition, according to him, the southernmost Chinese province intends to increase cooperation with other countries in this direction.
Hainan plays an important role in the development of Chinese space exploration. The island is home to the Wenchang Cosmodrome, one of China's four space harbors, the only place in the country where technical conditions allow the launch of the CZ-7A (Changzheng-7-a), the longest (60.7 m) rocket of national development.
Other Chinese carriers of the new generation, which only Hainan is capable of launching into orbit in the country, are the commercial CZ-8, as well as CZ-5 and CZ-5B. They are the most massive (870 and 837.5 tons, respectively) of all analogues developed in China. In addition, this cosmodrome is a popular attraction, which in 2021 attracted over 8 million tourists who spent 6 billion yuan (more than $ 942 million) during their visit.
Moreover, in the city of Sanya on the southern coast of the island, a new platform for the development of aerospace technologies is being actively formed. In particular, projects related to satellite data processing are being implemented there.
