Reading the current Air & Space Forces Almanac 2026, discussions of the space programs of China caught my interest, and I decided to look a little further.
I somewhat knew that China had a significant space program. What I had not appreciated was just how extensive it has become and how many different directions it is going at the same time.
So I started reading.
China today operates its own permanently crewed Tiangong space station. It has an extensive and growing satellite program. It has demonstrated increasingly sophisticated operations between spacecraft in orbit. And it is pursuing an ambitious lunar exploration program with the stated goal of putting Chinese astronauts on the Moon before 2030.
Some of what China has already accomplished is extraordinary simply from the standpoint of space exploration.
In 2024, China’s Chang’e 6 mission landed on the far side of the Moon and successfully returned samples to Earth, the first time samples had ever been returned from the lunar far side. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter actually photographed the Chang’e 6 lander at its landing site in the Apollo basin.
But there is another side of China’s space program that is particularly relevant to those of us in the Air & Space Forces Association.
Space is increasingly a military domain.
The independent Secure World Foundation publishes an annual Global Counterspace Capabilities Report. Its newly released 2026 edition examines the counterspace activities of 13 countries, including the United States, Russia and China. Among the Chinese developments it examines is what it describes as China’s likely on-orbit satellite refueling experiment during much of the second half of 2025.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies has also been following Chinese activities in orbit. Its Space Threat Assessment describes Chinese satellites in both low Earth orbit and geostationary orbit demonstrating increasingly advanced maneuvering capabilities.
That was where my casual reading of the Almanac started becoming much more interesting.
Satellites are no longer simply objects launched into orbit that remain there doing one job. What I was reading discussed rendezvous, proximity operations, maneuvering, servicing and potentially refueling spacecraft in orbit, technologies with both peaceful and military applications.
What I found especially interesting is that China’s activities in space cover a very broad range, including science, exploration, communications, navigation, Earth observation and human spaceflight. At the same time, some of what I was reading also examined the military significance of China’s growing capabilities in space.
Perhaps what surprised me was realizing how much of this has been taking place without most of us paying very much attention.
We watched the American and Soviet space programs unfold almost mission by mission during the original Space Race. Astronauts and cosmonauts became household names. Rockets, Moon landings and spacecraft were front-page news.
Today another enormous expansion of human activity in space is underway, but much of it happens far more quietly.
I certainly don’t pretend to be an expert on China’s space program. This started because I was reading the Air & Space Forces Almanac 2026, became curious, and went looking for more information.
And I found the subject fascinating.
The more I read, the more apparent it became to me that China’s activities in space are something worth learning more about, particularly for those of us whose interests include the United States Air Force and United States Space Force.
Sometimes an Almanac does exactly what it is supposed to do. https://www.airandspaceforces.com
It makes you turn the page, and then go looking for another one.
If you would like to explore further:
China National Space Administration (CNSA)
China’s government agency responsible for civilian space activities and international space cooperation.
https://www.cnsa.gov.cn/english/
China Manned Space Program
The official site for China’s human spaceflight program, including its space station, missions and astronauts.
https://en.cmse.gov.cn/
China’s Space Program: A 2021 Perspective
The Chinese government’s white paper describing its space program, objectives and plans in its own words.
https://english.scio.gov.cn/whitepapers/2022-01/28/content_78016877.htm
NASA: Chang’e 6 on the Far Side of the Moon
NASA’s coverage of its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photographing China’s Chang’e 6 spacecraft on the lunar far side.
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/lro/nasas-lro-spots-chinas-change-6-spacecraft-on-lunar-far-side/
Secure World Foundation: 2026 Global Counterspace Capabilities Report
Independent analysis of Chinese, U.S., Russian and other nations’ counterspace capabilities.
https://www.swfound.org/publications-and-reports/2026-global-counterspace-capabilities-report
CSIS Space Threat Assessment
Analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies on developments in military space capabilities.
https://aerospace.csis.org/space-threat-assessment-2025/