The PLAASF is headquartered in the
Haidian District of Beijing. Central staff sections include: • Staff department () • Information and Communications Division () • Political Work Department () • Cadre Bureau() • Logistics Department () • Relay Satellite Control and Management Center () • Test Equipment and Materials Procurement Bureau () • East China Office () • Xichang Quality Supervision Station ()
Subordinate Units Launch Centers •
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (),
MUCD: unit 63600 ( Dongfeng Base or Dongfeng Aerospace City). Located in
Dongfeng Town in the
Ejin Banner of the
Alxa League of
Inner Mongolia, Jiuqian was one of the first aerospace launch facilities ever constructed in China. It is the main base for testing and launching the
Long March series of rockets, as well as other missiles, various test satellites meant for low and medium orbits, application satellites, and crewed spacecraft. The base is also responsible for the main
spacecraft recovery location. •
Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (): Stationed in
Kelan County of
Xinzhou City in
Shanxi Province, the launch base was constructed in March 1967 under Project 3201 as a response to the breakdown of Sino-Soviet relations. The base was constructed deep in the mountains and deliberately misnamed as part of the Chinese strategy of "backing-up, concealment, and dispersion". The site mostly served as a nuclear missile site and as a detachment of Jiuqian until it was made an independent unit in January 1976. The launch center was opened to international commercial launches in the 1990s with its launch of two U.S. Iridium satellites into orbit. •
Xichang Satellite Launch Center ()
MUCD: Unit 63790. Headquartered on the Hangtian North Road of
Xichang City in
Sichuan Province. As of 2022 it also remotely controlled the
Wenchang Aerospace Launch Site in
Hainan Province.
Control Centers •
Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center (): based in the Haidian district of Beijing, it is the main control center for
China's space program, including the crewed
Shenzhou missions. The BACC conducts launch monitoring, tracking and measurement, as well as launch recovery. It includes the China offices of
SINOSAT and
Inmarsat.The complex including the BACC is often called "Aerospace City" (航天城) •
China Maritime Satellite Telemetry and Control Department (),
MUCD Unit 63680: Stationed at
Jiangyin City in
Jiangsu Province, the base was established in 1978 as the headquarter and
home port for the
Yuan Wang-class tracking ships, which are used to track rocket and missile launches, in particular the testing of the
Dongfeng series ballistic missiles and
Long March rockets. • '''
Xi'an Satellite Telemetry and Control Center''' (),
MUCD: Unit 63750. Stationed at No. 28 Xianning East Road in
Xi’an City of
Shaanxi Province, the base was established in September 1975 as a missile measurement and tracking base and is now the operations and control center for China Energyne and the backup control center of BACC. •
Beijing Institute of Tracking and Telemetry Technology () aka BITTT: located at the Beijing Space City, it focuses on satellite communication and navigation research.
Testing, Development, and Training Centers •
Malan Nuclear Test Base (),
MUCD: Unit 63650. Located at the western ends of
Lop Nur and Nairenkeer Townships of
Heshuo County in the
Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture of the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Base 21 served as the main
nuclear launch and test site of the
Chinese nuclear program. The Base has not conducted nuclear weapons testing since 1996. •
Luoyang Electronic Equipment Test Center (),
MUCD: unit 63880. Located at
Luoyang in the
Henan Province, Base 33 serves as the
metrology and instrument measurement center of the PLAASF. It also conducts astronomical mapping and surveying. This base used to be one of the most restricted bases in China and was off limits to foreigners until the 1980s. •
China Aerodynamics Research and Development Center () (CARDC). located in
Mianyang City,
Sichuan, it is the largest aerodynamic research center in China, specialized in
hypersonic missile research. •
Astronaut Center of China () aka ACC: located at the Beijing Aerospace City, it is the main training and research center for the Chinese space program's astronauts. •
Astronaut Corps (): headquartered at Beijing Aerospace City, it is a directly subordinated military unit of the Aerospace Force. As of 2018 it had selected and trained 42 astronauts, and was in the process of training a third batch, which will include civilians. •
Aerospace Research and Development Center (): •
Project Design Research Center () • '''People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force's Aerospace Engineering University''' (): not clear what the new name will be after the April 2024 reform.
Ranks ;Officer ranks ;Enlisted and NCO ranks ==Equipment==