Since the dawn of humanity, the sky and stars have stimulated our imagination and curiosity. (1)As our understanding about outer space increases.so does our passion and drive to explore beyond the reaches of our own planet and to utilize space to understand our own planet. Just as communications satellites have emerged as an important part of our telecommunication networks, our daily lives are enhanced greatly by services such as weather forecasting, GPS, satellite imagery, and other applications. Just a half-century after the launch of the Sputnik, space infrastructure has become central to the way we live, work and play. The budget and revenue of space activities reached 257 billion dollars in 2008. (2)More and more countries are paying attention to space and joining in the space endeavor. It has been the hot topic for us all on how to develop space technology in an efficient and sustainable fashion and how to further the global cooperation on space development.
It has been 50 splendid years since China embarked on the road to develop its space industry, starting in 1956. For half a century, China has worked independently in this field. (3) China has made eye-catching achievements, and ranks among the world’s most advanced countries in some important fields of space technology. China is unflinching in taking the road of peaceful development, and always maintains that outer space is the common wealth of mankind. While supporting all activities that utilize outer space for peaceful purposes, China actively explores and uses outer space and is trying to make new contributions to the development of man’s space programs.
China’s space program attaches great importance to better serving the needs of social and economic development, through activities concerning space systems, space technology applications and space services. China’s space enterprises are fulfilling their social responsibility and providing continuous technical support to such fields of the national economy as satellite communications, disaster monitoring, earthquake rescue and relief, meteorological and ocean monitoring, land survey, forestry and agriculture. Taking advantage of creativity and advanced technologies, China’s space industry is developing IT products, new energy, new materials, environmental protection technologies and modern industrial equipment. (4)Using space technology. China upgrades conventional industries and realizes the effective integration of low resource and energy consumption, low-emission and high economy efficiency which is conductive to building a resource-saving, environment-friendly and harmonious-developing society. China has long been active in international space cooperation. Chinese space technology has also benefited people of other countries through sharing and free distribution of satellite data and commercial cooperation.
As everyone knows, high input and high risk are features of space programs. (5) Facing the global economic recession, the space community is under more pressure than before. Enhancing exchange and cooperation might be the best way to a win-win situation. Global Space Development Summit offers a top-level forum for people from governments, research institutes, companies and relevant agencies to exchange their views at policy and academic levels, thus improving mutual understanding and creating a favorable atmosphere for international space cooperation.
