Qian Xuesen
With the successful launch of "Dongfanghong I", China became the fifth country after the Soviet Union, United States, France, and Japan to independently launch a satellite. Although "Dongfanghong I" was launched 13 years after "Sputnik I", its mass exceeded the combined masses of the first satellites of the other four countries. After this launch, Qian Xuesen proposed to the Chinese government that China should develop a manned space program and submitted a manned space undertaking report. Mao Zedong himself signed "approved" to the report.