Dong Fang Hong meaning The East is Red

The East Is Red

"The East Is Red" is a song that was the de facto anthem of the People's Republic of China during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. The lyrics of the song were attributed to Li Youyuan, a farmer from northern Shaanxi, and the melody was derived from a local folk song...

, is a space satellite program for the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

, which started in 1970. Satellites in this series were placed in either low Earth orbit

Low Earth orbit

A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...

 or geostationary orbit and carried out a variety of purposes: testing, remote sensing, telecommunications, meteorology, and scientific studies. While most Chinese satellites are named as part of the Dong Fang Hong series, others are singularly named or part of the AsiaSat

AsiaSat

Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. is a commercial operator of communication spacecraft. AsiaSat is based in Hong Kong with two major shareholders, CITIC and General Electric.-Satellites:...

 or Apstar series.

China is also eager to provide its Dong Fang Hong technology as the basis for satellites designed, manufactured and launched by China for international customers, as it did for Nigeria with the NigComSat-1

NigComSat-1

NigComSat-1 was a Nigerian communication satellite. The initial contract to build the satellite was signed in 2004. It became the first African geosynchronous communication satellite, when it was launched at 16:01 GMT on 13 May 2007, aboard a Chinese Long March 3B carrier rocket, from the Xichang...

 whose lifespan was cut short due to communications and power problems.

Satellites launched

• 1970
  • Dong Fang Hong 01
    Dong Fang Hong I
    Dong Fang Hong I , also known as China 1, was the People's Republic of China's first space satellite, launched successfully on April 24, 1970 as part of the PRC's Dong Fang Hong space satellite program. At 173 kg , it was heavier than the first satellites of other countries. The satellite carried...
    
     (Mao 1)

• 1971
  • Dong Fang Hong 02
    Dong Fang Hong 02
    Dong Fang Hong 02 was a primary television satellite used by China during the later part of the 20th century. It was developed at the Chinese Academy of Space Technology and had a design life 4.5 years. The first satellite in this group was launched into a geosynchronous orbit on April 8, 1984...
    
     (Mao 2)

• 1975
  • Dong Fang Hong 03 (Mao 3)
  • Dong Fang Hong 04 (Mao 4)
  • Dong Fang Hong 05 (Mao 5)

• 1976
  • Dong Fang Hong 06 (Mao 6)
  • Dong Fang Hong 07 (Mao 7)

• 1978
  • Dong Fang Hong 08 (Mao 8)

• 1981
  • Dong Fang Hong 09
  • Dong Fang Hong 10
  • Dong Fang Hong 11

• 1982
  • Dong Fang Hong 12

• 1983
  • Dong Fang Hong 13

• 1984
  • Dong Fang Hong 14
  • Dong Fang Hong 15 (STTW 0)
  • Dong Fang Hong 16

• 1985
  • Dong Fang Hong 17

• 1986
  • Dong Fang Hong 18 (STTW 1)
  • Dong Fang Hong 19

• 1987
  • Dong Fang Hong 20
  • Dong Fang Hong 21

• 1988
  • Dong Fang Hong 22 (Chinasat 1)
  • Dong Fang Hong 23
  • Dong Fang Hong 24 (Feng Yun 1-1)
  • Dong Fang Hong 25 (Chinasat 2)

• 1990
  • Dong Fang Hong 26 (Chinasat 3)
  • Dong Fang Hong 30 (Feng Yun 1-2)
  • Dong Fang Hong 31 (Atmosphere 1)
  • Dong Fang Hong 32 (Atmosphere 2)
  • Dong Fang Hong 33

• 1991
  • Dong Fang Hong 34 (Chinasat 4)

• 1992
  • Dong Fang Hong 35
  • Dong Fang Hong 36

• 1993
  • Dong Fang Hong 37 (Jianbing 93)

• 1994
  • Dong Fang Hong 38 (Shijian 4)
  • Dong Fang Hong 39 (Shijian 4-2)
  • Dong Fang Hong 40 (FSW 2)
  • Dong Fang Hong 41

• 1996
  • Dong Fang Hong 42 (Chinasat 7)
  • Dong Fang Hong 43 (FSW 2-3)

• 1997
  • Dong Fang Hong 44 (Chinasat 6)
  • Dong Fang Hong 45 (FY 2B)

• 1999
  • Dong Fang Hong 46 (FY 1C)
  • Dong Fang Hong 47 (SJ 5)

• 2000
  • Dong Fang Hong 48 (Chinasat 22)
  • Dong Fang Hong 49 (FY 2C)
  • Dong Fang Hong 50 (ZY 2)
  • Dong Fang Hong 51 (Beidou 1)
  • Dong Fang Hong 52 (Beidou 2)

• 2002
  • Dong Fang Hong 53 (FY 1D)
  • Dong Fang Hong 54 (HY 1)
  • Dong Fang Hong 55 (ZY 2)