First Atomic Bomb Test ("Two Bombs, One Satellite")

In the 1950s the United States and other nuclear powers repeatedly threatened China with nuclear weapons. To break the nuclear monopoly and nuclear blackmail and defend national security, in January 1955 the Party Central Committee made the strategic decision to develop atomic energy. In 1956 the state drew up the Long-Term Plan for the Development of Science and Technology, 1956–1967. A large group of scientists, represented by Qian Xuesen, Deng Jiaxian, Qian Sanqiang, Guo Yonghuai, Wang Ganchang and Zhu Guangya, devoted themselves to developing the "Two Bombs, One Satellite." In 1959 the Soviet government tore up its agreements, halted aid and withdrew its experts. To remember June 1959, when the Soviet agreement was torn up, the first atomic bomb was code-named "596." On 16 October 1964 China's first atomic bomb was successfully exploded at Lop Nur in the west, breaking the superpowers' nuclear monopoly. The Chinese government immediately declared solemnly that China would never be the first to use nuclear weapons at any time or under any circumstances. On 17 June 1967 China's first hydrogen bomb was successfully exploded; going from atomic bomb to hydrogen bomb took only two years and eight months. On 24 April 1970 China launched its first satellite, Dongfanghong 1, on a Long March 1 rocket. The success of the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" greatly strengthened China's national defense. In 1999 the state awarded the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" Meritorious Medal to 23 scientists and technical experts. Those involved formed the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" spirit of "loving the motherland and selfless dedication; self-reliance and hard struggle; close cooperation and daring to climb."