Editor's Note:
On April 24, 1970, China launched its first satellite, Dongfanghong-1, or "the East is Red," into space on a Long March-1 rocket, making China the fifth country in the world to independently develop and launch artificial satellites. On March 8, 2016, the China State Council approved the establishment of China's Space Day on April 24 of each year starting in 2016, which aimed to promote the aerospace spirit, popularize learning about space, develop the aerospace industry and increase China’s aerospace power. (Photos: VCG)
China launches two BeiDou-3 navigation satellites into space via a Long March-3B carrier rocket to support its global navigation and positioning network at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, on November 5, 2017. Photo: VCG 
China’s first X-ray space telescope to observe black holes, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts, was launched via a Long March-4B rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, northwest China's Gobi Desert, on June 15, 2017. The picture shows the careful loading of the X-ray Modulation Telescope onto the Long March-4B. Photo: VCG 
China's first cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-1 blasted off successfully from the Wenchang Space Launch Center, southern China's Hainan Province, on April 20, 2017. The picture shows Tianzhou-1 conducting the countdown preparation before launch. Photo: VCG 
China launches the Kuaizhou-1 solid-fuelled carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, northwest China's Gobi Desert, on January 9, 2017. Photo: VCG 
China successfully launches its first heavy-lift rocket, the Long March-5, from the Wenchang Space Launch Center, southern China’s Hainan Province, on November 3, 2016. This reflected the country's "greatest advancement" in developing a new rocket family for both its unmanned and manned space programs. Photo: VCG 
China’s Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft successfully launches with two astronauts and enters its designated orbit on the morning of October 17, 2016. The spacecraft, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. Photo: Su Dong/Chinanews/VCG 
China's Long March-7 carrier rocket blasts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center, southern China’s Hainan Province, on June 25, 2016. Visitors take photos of the rocket launching. Photo: VCG 
China's Long March-7 carrier rocket is transported from the rocket vertical assembly and test plant to the launch area at the Wenchang Space Launch Center, southern China’s Hainan Province, on June 22, 2016. Photo: VCG 
China’s manned spacecraft Shenzhou-10 prepares for launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, northwest China’s Gansu Province, on June 9, 2013. Photo: VCG 
The Chinese Yaogan-5 satellite launches successfully on the Long March-4B carrier rocket at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on December 15, 2008. Photo: VCG
