BEIJING, April 24 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote back on Thursday to the elder scientists who participated in the Dongfanghong-1 mission, as the 50th anniversary of the successful launch of the country's first man-made satellite approached.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, extended sincere greetings to them and expected the aerospace workers to speed up the construction of a powerful space industry in the letter.

The anniversary falls on April 24, which is also the fifth Space Day of China.

(Source: Xinhua)