And on Wednesday, the 92-year-old, who has always denied the spying allegations, enjoyed the crowning success of his career as China sent its first man into orbit, joining the club of Russia and the United States.

Born in Shanghai in 1911, he was a brilliant student, graduating from the Mechanical Engineering Department of Shanghai Jiaotong University in 1934 before enrolling in Beijing's Tsinghua University and moving abroad to study.

In 1939, he was granted a doctorate in aerospace and mathematics in the United States California Institute of Technology. But, despite excelling in his field, founding the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of Pasadena, and being commended by the US Air Force for his contributions, intelligence agencies in the United States were suspicious of the brilliant scientist.

Qian was accused of harboring Communist sympathies and stripped of his security clearance in 1950, although he was never actuallycharged with espionage.

After being kept under virtual house arrest for five years, Qian returned to China in 1955 in a negotiated exchange for American pilots shot down by the Chinese during the Korean War.

He soon submitted proposals for a space and rocketry programme to China's State Council. After founding the Institute of Mechanics, he developed the Titan ballistic missile program and China's first man-made earth-orbited satellite.

An official People's Daily biography said he also directly presided over experiments on atomic bombs with short-range missiles.

In 1991, he received the "State Scientist of Outstanding Contribution" award -- the highest honor that can be bestowed on a scientist in China.

He now lives in Beijing.

SPACE.WIRE