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DFH-1

China launched its first satellite on 24 April 1970 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The spacecraft, which with a mass of 173 kg was heavier than the combined weights of the first satellites of the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom and France, broadcast the melody, Dong Fang Hong (the East is Red). This traditional Chinese folk tune was given a new set of lyrics extolling Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party. Heard daily in contemporary China, the song was regarded by Chinese citizens as an emblem of the Communist government, much as The Star Spangled Banner sybolizes the United States.

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