航天

• Pinyin: háng tiān
• Hanzi breakdown: 航 = 舟 (boat) + 亢 (upright/high) — navigating upward; 天 = 大 (person) + horizontal stroke above — what lies above and beyond

Meaning

Space travel; spaceflight — to travel or operate in outer space beyond Earth's atmosphere; used broadly as a noun and modifier in aerospace contexts.

Used in 航天员 (astronaut/taikonaut), 航天飞机 (space shuttle), 航天器 (spacecraft), 航天局 (space agency). 中国航天 (Chinese Space Programme) is a key institutional term. Distinct from 航空 (aviation within the atmosphere) — a common confusion to avoid.

Examples

1. 中国航天事业自二十世纪五十年代艰难起步，经过几代航天人的不懈奋斗，已跻身世界航天强国之列。 China’s space program got off to a difficult start in the 1950s, but through the unremitting efforts of generations, it has become one of the world’s leading space powers.
2. 载人航天任务对航天员的身心素质要求极为严苛，从选拔到出舱执行任务需要经历长达数年的系统训练。 Crewed space missions demand extremely rigorous physical and mental qualifications; from selection to spacewalks, astronauts undergo years of systematic training.
3. 随着商业航天公司的崛起，私人企业进入航天领域的门槛正在逐步降低，太空旅游的商业化前景也日益清晰。 As commercial space companies rise, the barrier for private firms to enter the space sector is gradually lowering, and the prospects for commercial space tourism are becoming increasingly clear.

Usage Guide

Context: science, technology, government, military, education

Tone: formal

Do Say

• 神舟系列飞船的成功发射标志着中国在载人航天领域取得了历史性突破，极大地提振了全国人民的民族自豪感。(The successful launches of the Shenzhou spacecraft series marked a historic breakthrough for China in the field of crewed spaceflight, greatly boosting the national pride of the entire nation.)
• 中国航天局计划在本十年内完成首次载人登月任务，并在月球表面建立长期科研基地。(The China National Space Administration plans to complete its first crewed lunar landing mission within this decade and establish a long-term scientific research base on the lunar surface.)

Don't Say

• 航天 when referring to aviation within the atmosphere — 航天 is exclusively outer space; for in-atmosphere flight use 航空; never use 航天 and 航空 interchangeably

Origin & History

航 (to navigate, to travel by vessel) + 天 (sky, heaven, outer space) — to navigate the heavens

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal