Overview----Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Welcome to CSU

Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CSU) was formally established in August 2011. Before 2011, CSU has also been known as GESSA, i.e. General Establishment of Space Science and Application, Chinese Academy of Sciences, which was founded in 1993. The name GESSA is still referred to today.

On behalf of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, CSU has been leading the space utilization system of China Manned Space program and takes the responsibility of mission planning, implementation, achievement outreach of space science and utilization. As the headquarters of the utilization system, CSU takes the functions of technological support, reliability assurance and service, results outreach of the utilization system. And it is responsible for the management and coordination of the system, as well as the system design, integration, testing, reliability assurance, in-orbit technical support, in-orbit payload control, data acquisition and service, etc.

China’s Manned Space Science and utilization has long been playing an important role in serving the national major strategic demands and gaining world-class competitive capabilities. With 20 years of unremitting endeavor, tens of scientific research projects have been successfully implemented, by utilizing the “SZ” series spacecraft and “TG” space laboratories. Fruitful achievements have been attained in these researches. With the significant contribution to the progress of CMSP, especially to the space science and application, a number of awards and reputation were gained, such as National Prize of Scientific and Technological Progress, National May 1 Labor Award, Outstanding Contributions to the Manned Spaceflight and more.

CSU composes of about 300 employees including one Chinese Academy of Sciences member, and more than half of the employees are senior-level engineers with Ph.D. or Master’s degree. CSU has postgraduate programs: Information and Communication Engineering, Computer Science and Technology, Aeronautical and Astronautical Science, Computer Science and Electronics and Communications Engineering. Doctoral programs have been established in Computer Science and Technology as well as Information and Communication Engineering.

CSU has always valued the great importance of international academic exchange and cooperation. It carries out various kinds of collaboration with international partners. Substantial international cooperation has been conducted focusing on the space utilization projects and has played a significant role in basic research and development work.

CSU is constantly committed to Chinese manned space missions and has made contributions to the development of space utilization.

History

Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization (CSU) was founded in 1993, and its former name was GESSA which is now still in use. GESSA is dedicated to the space science and utilization in China’s Manned Space Program. Initially in 1994, GESSA and Center for Space Science and Applied Research (CSSAR) were merged as one entity of CAS; however, in the year of 2003, GESSA became a part of Academy of Opto-Electronics, CAS. Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization (CSU) which belongs to Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) formally established as an independent entity in August 2011, to meet the requirements of national strategies to develop pioneering utilization systems in Chinese space station, standing in the domestic and international frontiers in space science.

CSU now has 3 departments: Department of System Engineering, Department of Techniques and Department of Strategy Development. Each department has its own function: Dept. of Sys Eng. takes the responsibility of payload operation, software test, system integration and test, parallel design and simulation and system design; Dept. of Techniques takes the responsibility of integrated support, structure and thermal and electric information. Data utilization, space exploration and strategic plan are the responsibility of Dept. of strategy & Development. CSU has successfully implemented the multi-discipline researches in Shenzhou and Tiangong missions of China’s Manned Space Program. Currently, it is on the way of planning and implementing the utilization programs on CSS, leading the development of manned space science and utilization in China.