China - Very Rare Medal: Dong Fang Hong 1 Chinese First Satellite Circa 1970

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China Rare Medal: Dong Fang Hong 1 - Chinese First Satellite Circa 1970 These medals would have only been given to officials and dignitaries who participated in the program and as such would be quite rare. Chinese communications technology satellite. 3 launches, 1969.11.16 (DFH Mao 1) to 1971.03.03 (SJ-1). First Chinese satellite. The initial satellite was flown for purely propaganda purposes, using a tune generator to play the 'East is Red'. The second included a magnetometer and cosmic/x-ray detectors in place tune generator. In 1958 the Chinese Academy of Sciences formed a small task group, code named 581, headed by Tsien Hsue-Shen (Qian Xuesen) and Zhao Jiuzhang, to design China's first satellite. In 1965 the State Council reviewed the draft 'Plan for the Development of China's Artificial Satellites'. The evaluation group, code named 651, discussed the objectives and operational tasks of the DFH-1 (Dongfanghong, East is Red) satellite. The DFH-1 would be a scientific test satellite and include transmission of radio signals. Research and development of the satellite and its CZ-1 launch rocket began in November 1966. The planned schedule was severely disrupted by the Cultural Revolution. The DFH-1 as originally designed would have a mass of 150 kg. The last stage of the booster was equipped with an 'observation skirt' that would deploy to increase its reflectivity. In 1968, the Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST) was established and put in charge of realizing the DFH-1. It was orbited as the first Chinese artificial satellite on 24 April 1970. The satellite was composed of seven subsystems - structure, thermal control, power supply, 'The East Is Red' tune generating device, short wave telemetry, tracking and radio, and attitude measurement. The total mass of the spin stabilized satellite was 173 kg. Its shape was similar to the American Telstar, a seventy-two-face polyhedron 1 m in diameter. The satellite was spin stabilized during its flight in space. Min Guiyong headed the development staff at CAST in qualifying the satellite for space flight, including thermal vacuum simulation tests. After reaching orbit, the satellite drew power from on-board batteries and began broadcasting the 'East is Red' Chinese national anthem at 20.009 MHz. DFH-1 had a design life of 15 days. Other systems functioned nominally and recorded some physics measurements. The third stage of CZ-1 had an "observation skirt" mounted to increase its reflectivity to magnitude 2 to 3. The brightness of the DFH-1 itself was much fainter, ranging from magnitude 5 to 8. At its brightest, DFH-1 was barely visible to the naked eye from a very dark location. At its faintest, the satellite was beyond the threshold of naked eye visibility. The primary purpose of the satellite was to conduct tests of communications satellite technology. On 3 March, 1971, the second DFH-1, designated SJ-1 (Practice-1) satellite was launched. The design life of the satellite was one year, but it operated in space for more than 8 years until its decay on 11 June, 1979. During the entire period the solar power supply system, thermal control system and long-term telemetry system continued to function. The second DFH was 48 kg heavier, covered with solar cells, and was able to continuously transmit data at 19.995 MHz. It included a magnetometer and cosmic/x-ray detectors in place of the 'East is Red' tune generator on the first DFH. Gross mass: 173 kg (381 lb). Height: 1.00 m (3.20 ft). Span: 1.00 m (3.20 ft). First Launch: 1969.11.16. Last Launch: 1971.03.03. Number: 3 .