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 | Tuesday, April 25, 2000, updated at 09:37(GMT+8) | ||||||||||||
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Beijing Rally Marks 30th Anniversary of Satellite LaunchThe Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense held a gathering on April 24 morning to celebrate the 30th anniversary of China's successful maiden satellite launch.Wu Bangguo, member of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, sent a congratulatory message to the rally, calling for further growth of the country's space industry. Wu, also vice-premier of the State Council, said that the industry should maintain its growth momentum, catch up with the world's most advanced level and create a new chapter of glory. On April 24, 1970, China successfully put its "Dongfanghong" satellite into orbit for the first time in the country's history. The success made China the fifth country in the world, after the former Soviet Union, the United States, France and Japan, to launch its own satellite into the space. "The successful launch had greatly uplifted the country's status among its peers and boosted the morale of the whole nation," said Liu Jibin, minister in charge of the commission. Over the past three decades, China has succeeded in putting a total of 61 satellites into the space. The perfect launching and landing of China's first experimental spacecraft, "Shenzhou", on November 20, 1999, marked another milestone in the country's space industry, the minister said.
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