Upward and Onward: Technological Innovation and Organizational Change in China's Space Industry

Abstract

China's space industry has made remarkable technological advances in the variety and sophistication of its satellites, human space flight program, and lunar exploration program. China appears to be taking an integrative innovation approach in which foreign technologies are built upon and improved rather than adopted wholesale. China's space industry is also undergoing major organizational change in which it plans to enter the commercial space sector and leverage its expertise in space technology to manufacture civilian products. This two-pronged strategy is designed to make China into a strong space power on par with the United States, Russia, and Europe. However, the space industry risks overreach and losing focus as it takes on multiple large projects.

Key Words:

• China
• Space Industry
• Innovation

Notes

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⁵Only 14 of the 16 large projects have been publicly identified. The other two are presumably classified military projects.

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³⁵‘Liaowang: An Interview with CASC President Ma Xingrui’.

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³⁷Ma, ‘Successfully Complete All of 2010's R&D, Production, Flight, and Testing Missions’

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³⁹Zhang Guodong, ‘CASC Deepens Structural Reform To Build a New System fortheAerospace Science and Technology Industry ( )’, <www.spacechina.com/zt_ggkf30/fzlc_details.shtml?recno= 58199>.

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