China in Space: The Great Leap Forward(Space Exploration)

In 2019, China astonished the world by landing a spacecraft and rover on the far side of the Moon, something never achieved by any country before. China had already become the world’s leading spacefaring nation by rockets launched, sending more into orbit than any other. China is now a great space superpower alongside the United States and Russia, sending men and women into orbit, building a space laboratory (Tiangong) and sending probes to the Moon and asteroids. Roadmap 2050 promises that China will set up bases on the Moon and Mars and lead the world in science and technology by mid-century. China’s space programme is one of the least well-known, but this book will bring the reader up to date with its mysteries, achievements and exciting plans. China has built a fleet of new, powerful Long March rockets, four launch bases, tracking stations at home and abroad, with gleaming new design and production facilities. China is poised to build a large, permanent space station, bring back lunar rocks, assemble constellations of communications satellites and send spaceships to Mars, the moons of Jupiter and beyond. A self-sustaining lunar base, Yuegong, has already been simulated. In space, China is the country to watch.                       

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements.- Dedication.- About the Author.- Author’s Introduction.- Chapter 1: The far side of the Moon.- Chapter 2: Medieval rockets to first satellites.- Chapter 3: New rockets, launch sites and ships.- Chapter 4: Science and technology.- Chapter 5: Communications.- Chapter 6: Applications and military.- Chapter 7: Manned flight.- Chapter 8: To the Moon and Mars.- Chapter 9: China in perspective.- Glossary.- Appendix 1: Timeline of key dates in China’s space program.- Appendix 2: List of Chinese space launchings.- Bibliography.- Index.

About the Author :
Brian Harvey is a writer and broadcaster on space flight who lives in Dublin, Ireland. He has a degree in history and political science from Dublin University (Trinity College) and a MA from University College Dublin. His first book was Race into space – the Soviet space programme (Ellis Horwood, 1988), followed by further books on the Russian, Chinese, European, Indian and Japanese space programs. His books and chapters have been translated into Russian, Chinese and Korean.                      

Review :
“Brian has written a number of books on spaceflight for Springer and this new tome is an excellent addition to the stable.” (John Flannery, Orbit, Vol. 56 (1), 2021) “Harvey's consistency in publishing on China's space program makes him an academic authority on Chinese space activities. … A read of Harvey's book provides an excellent opportunity to comprehensively understand the technology and projects of China's space program.” (Astropolitics, Vol. 18 (1), 2020) “The most comprehensive and insightful review of the history, current status, and future plans of China’s space program is Brian Harvey’s most recent book, China in Space: The Great Leap Forward.” (Marsha Freeman, Quest, Vol. 27 (3), 2020) “This is a worthy reference book as well as a good read and your reviewer has no reservations in recommending Brian Harvey’s latest magnum opus. It ishard to see it being outclassed by other works yet to be published on this subject.” (David Baker, Spaceflight, Vol. 62, September, 2020) “Thanks for putting the effort into this indispensable tool for reading and studying. … This book is strongly recommended to all those newly-arrived young authors who find it fanciful to write about China's space programme on the web, but lack the knowledge and the understanding of the context.” (Jacqueline Myrrhe, GT Review, Issue 28, February 2020) “This book should find a place equally well on the shelves of great libraries and the corridors of political power, as much as it will find its place on the shelves of all who are passionate about or interested in space exploration.” (Kevin Nolan, Astronomy Ireland, January, 2020)