The universe sings «The East is Red».
On 24 April 1970 the People's Republic of China successfully launched its first space satellite, the Dong Fang Hong 1 (东方红一号), carried by the first expendable launch rocket of chinese manifacture, the Long March 1. As the PRC was trying to catch up with both the USSR and the USA, the satellite was the last step of a path that began with the building of China's first atomic and hydrogen bombs, all meant to show off that China could "stand on its own legs", despite the Sino-Soviet Split, the lack of assistance from other countries and the threats of the USA.
After its launch the Dong Fang Hong 1, equipped with a radio transmitter, started broadcasting into the outer space the famous Cultural Revolution song "The East is Red", from which it took its name, and continued to do so for 20 days, while the team of the space program listened and recorded it from their base in Jiuquan, Inner Mongolia.
On that day the People's Republic of China became the 5th nation in the world to indipendently place a satellite into orbit, following the USSR, USA, France and Japan.
