China, known for its highly secret space program recently opening its space project to tens and thousands of tourists in a surprising reversal of policy. A testament to this policy is the space program's expectation that more than 25,000 people will be watching the launch of the Long March 5 carrier on Thursday.

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The Chinese space program was created around 70 years ago. Ever since the program has been controlled and managed a highly classified agency whose work are only available to top Chinese government officials.

China's decision to open up its space program to the public has been interpreted by political experts as the government's way of opening up the project which some international bodies deem as a secret military campaign.

In the past, the Chinese space agency only provides handpicked images of rocket launches and landing modules to the state media for dissemination to the public. Lately, the agency tasked of supervising the country's space program is allowing tourists to visit some of its launch control sites and even witness the actual launch of a rocket.

According to Forbes, China's decision to open up its space exploration project to the general public not only dispelled rumors about secret military projects but it also increased tourism to the areas where the agency's launch pads are located.

Following the announcement in June, the otherwise remote location of Wenchang Satellite Launch Center was flooded by at least 80,000 tourists who stayed in nearby hotels to witness the Long March 7 launch.

Tagschina, China space program, space program, outer space, space exploration, Long March, Long March 7