East China’s Jiangsu province marked the annual event of the National Day of Space Flight at a theme event held Saturday in Nanjing. Wu Zhenglong, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Governor of Jiangsu addressed the launching ceremony. Zhang Kejian, Deputy Minister of Industry and Information Technology and Director of the National Space Administration delivered a speech.
Wu Zhenglong said that Jiangsu’s strength in manufacturing and aerospace industries has made significant contributions to China’s space launch in the past decades.
Noting that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and the 65th anniversary of China's aerospace industry, the governor said that hosting of main venue event for the National Day of Space Flight and the China Space Conference by Jiangsu is an important platform for popularizing aerospace knowledge and cultivating innovative culture, an important carrier for party history and patriotism education, as well as an important link for inheriting the aerospace spirit and gathering powerful forces, which will effectively promote Jiangsu's socialist modernization drive.
Efforts will be made to accelerate the construction of an industrial science and technology innovation center with global influence, make every effort to build an advanced manufacturing base with international competitiveness, actively build an open hub with worldwide prominence so as to accurately understand the new development stage, act on the new development philosophy and accelerate the establishment of the new development paradigm, the governor said.
Zhang Kejian remarked that efforts must be made to further deepen international cooperation and make new and greater contributions to exploring the mysteries of the universe and enhancing the well-being of mankind.
Noting that Jiangsu has a full-ranged aerospace scientific research system, he hoped Jiangsu will take this home event as an opportunity to promote the in-depth integrated development between the aerospace sector and the local industries, create a "space plus" strategic emerging industry, and promote high-quality development.
Han Liming, member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Nanjing Municipal Party Committee, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. On behalf of the provincial government, vice governor Qi Jiabin signed strategic cooperation agreements with aerospace science and technology, aerospace science and industry, military equipment, and China Electronics Technology.
Zhang Kejian presented the National Day of Space Flight banner to Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Wu Yanhua, deputy director of the National Space Administration, released the name for China's first Mars rover "Zhu Rong".
Sun Laiyan, former director of the National Space Administration and former chairman of the board of supervisors of major state-owned large-scale enterprises, and Yang Liwei, deputy chief designer of China’s manned space engineering, presented the China Aerospace Charity Ambassador with a plaque and awarded the Space Exploration and Art Creation Competition awards and the China Aerospace Foundation award.
In 2016, China set April 24 as National Day of Space Flight as the country marked the 60th anniversary of the beginning of China's spaceflight development. On April 24, 1970, China launched its first man-made earth satellite, Dongfanghong-1, making China the fifth country to launch a domestically produced satellite using domestically produced rockets. The other four countries were the Soviet Union, the U.S., France and Japan.
The establishment of the National Day of Space Flight comes in line with the needs to preserve the Chinese ethos, build China into a leading country in the space industry, foster public awareness for science and culture, increase young people's interest in science, realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and further exhibit China's determination and faith in the peaceful use of outer space to promote human progress.
