According to the latest official data, China's planned space launches for 2020 might exceed 40. In 2019, the number was 34, which was already the most in the world.

2020 will definitely be a year of significance for China's space program. Since the launch of Dongfanghong-1, China's first satellite, on April 24, 1970, China spent 26 years completing its first 40 space launches. The next 40 launches took place in less than 10 years, which shows great acceleration of China's space program.

With 40 launches planned for this year anybody can see that China's space program has made progress.

By the end of 2019, China's total number of space launches had exceeded 300. China has thus joined the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia as a proud member of the Top 3 in terms of its space achievements.

During the Cold War, the total number of space launches in one year often exceeded 100, with the peak being more than 150, as the major powers pursued the development of space technologies. After the end of the Cold War, the number fell. Now, with more attention being paid to space technology again, the total number of launches every year has been rising for the past years, and might exceed the peak of the Cold War era in 2020.

If all plans come true, the total number of orbital launches in 2020 might exceed their peak during the Cold War, of which China's planned launches account for a high percentage. With space technology coming to the fore again, China is making a greater contribution than ever before.

More important, China's planned spacecraft launches in 2020 cover many important areas. Chang'e-5 lunar explorer will conduct the first lunar sample return mission for the first time since 1976. China's Mars explorer will orbit, land and rove on Mars.

And China's next-generation crewed spacecraft will make its maiden flight, which will play a key role in the future crewed space missions.

－SHI HAO, A SPACE ENGINEER AT THE CHINA AEROSPACE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION