The ‘neglected’ chemistry: Fuels and materials preparation in China’s ‘two bombs and one satellite’ project

Abstract

The ‘two bombs and one satellite’ project was a major achievement of China after 1949 and has since been an important subject in historical and sociological research on science and technology in modern China. However, most accounts of the history or sociology of the project focus on physicists and engineers, rather than the chemists. This study examines the chemists’ work of preparing fuels and materials in the project and their post-project research. By analysing how Chinese scientists engaged in the project, how they understood the relationship between basic and applied research in their scientific practice and how they positioned themselves on issues of science policy, this article offers different and shifting concepts of basic and applied research with cultural variation in the context of China.