View source for Qian Xuesen

{{Short description|Chinese rocket scientist (1911–2009)}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Qian (surname)|Qian (Tsien)]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{Redirect|Hsue-shen Tsien|the 2012 biographical film|Hsue-shen Tsien (film)}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
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{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Qian Xuesen<br><small>{{nobold|Tsien Hsue-shen}}</small>
| native_name       = {{normal|钱学森}}
| native_name_lang  = zh
| image             = 歸國後的錢學森.png
| caption           = Qian in 1950s
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|1911|12|11}}
| birth_place       = [[Shanghai]], [[Qing dynasty]]
| death_date        = {{Death date and age|2009|10|31|1911|12|11}}
| death_place       = [[Beijing]], China
| field             = {{ubl|[[Aerospace engineering]]|[[Aeronautics]]|[[Engineering cybernetics]]}}
| work_institutions = {{ indented plainlist |
*[[California Institute of Technology]] (professor)
*[[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]] (co-founder)
*[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (professor)
*[[China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation|Fifth Academy]] of the [[Ministry of National Defense of China]] (first director)
*Institute of Mechanics of the [[Chinese Academy of Sciences]] (first director)
*[[People's Liberation Army]] Defense Technology Commission (vice director)
}}
| alma_mater        = {{indented plainlist |
*[[Shanghai Jiao Tong University|National Chiao Tung University]] {{nwr|([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])}}
*[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] {{nwr|([[Master of Science|MS]])}}
*[[California Institute of Technology]] {{nwr|([[PhD]])}}
}}
| thesis1_title     = Study of the turbulent boundary layer
| thesis1_url       = https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/111566
| thesis1_year      = 1936
| thesis2_title     = Problems in motion of compressible fluids and reaction propulsion
| thesis2_url       = https://thesis.library.caltech.edu/133/
| thesis2_year      = 1939
| doctoral_advisor  = [[Theodore von Kármán]]
| doctoral_students = {{ indented plainlist |
*[[Zheng Zhemin|Cheng Che-Min]] (1952)
}}
| known_for         = {{indented plainlist |
*Co-founder of the [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]]
*Founder of [[engineering cybernetics]]
*Father of [[Chinese space program]]
}}
| prizes            = {{indented plainlist |
*[[Chinese Academy of Sciences]] Academician (1957)
*Distinguished Alumni Award from Caltech (1979)
*[[Chinese Academy of Engineering]] Academician (1994)
*[[Two Bombs, One Satellite]] Merit Medal (1999)
}}
| footnotes         = 
| signature         = Qian Xuesen Signature.png
| spouse            = {{Marriage|[[Jiang Ying (musician)|Jiang Ying]]|1947}}
| children          = {{ubl|Qian Yonggang|Qian Yungjen}}
| module            = {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes
|s = 钱学森
|p = Qián Xuésēn
|t = 錢學森
|w = {{tonesup|Chʻien2 Hsüeh2-sen1}}
|mi={{IPAc-cmn|q|ian|2|-|xue|2|.|s|en|1}}
}}
}}

'''Qian Xuesen''' ({{lang-zh|s=钱学森}}; December 11, 1911{{snd}}October 31, 2009; also spelled as '''Tsien Hsue-shen''') was a Chinese [[aerospace engineer]] and [[cyberneticist]] who made significant contributions to the field of [[aerodynamics]] and established [[engineering cybernetics]]. He achieved recognition as one of America's leading experts in rockets and high-speed flight theory prior to his deportation to China in 1955.<ref name="JPL">{{Cite news |date=November 2009 |editor-last=Whalen |editor-first=Mark |title=JPL co-founder dies |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/universe/archive/un0911.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406064002/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/universe/archive/un0911.pdf |archive-date=April 6, 2024 |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=Universe |publisher=[[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]] |page=2 |volume=39 |issue=11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kingsbury |first=Kathleen |date=2025-05-30 |title=Opinion {{!}} The U.S. Made a Terrible Mistake When It Deported Qian Xuesen |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/opinion/visas-china-rockets-scientist-technology.html |access-date=2025-05-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Qian received his undergraduate education in mechanical engineering at [[Shanghai Jiao Tong University|National Chiao Tung University]] in Shanghai in 1934. He traveled to the United States in 1935 and attained a master's degree in aeronautical engineering at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] in 1936. Afterward, he joined [[Theodore von Kármán]]'s group at the [[California Institute of Technology]] in 1936, received a doctorate in aeronautics and mathematics there in 1939, and became an associate professor at Caltech in 1943. While at Caltech, he co-founded NASA's [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]].<ref name="JPL" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Qian Xuesen – Nuclear Museum |url=https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/profile/qian-xuesen/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128025801/https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/profile/qian-xuesen/ |archive-date=January 28, 2023 |access-date=January 28, 2023}}</ref> He was recruited by the [[United States Department of Defense]] and the [[United States Department of War|Department of War]] to serve in various positions, including as an expert consultant with a rank of [[colonel]] in 1945. He became an associate professor at MIT in 1946, a full professor at MIT in 1947, and a full professor at Caltech in 1949.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Biographies of Aerospace Officials and Policymakers |url=https://history.nasa.gov/biost-z.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611084726/http://history.nasa.gov/biost-z.html |archive-date=June 11, 2022 |access-date=February 2, 2015 |publisher=NASA}}</ref>

During the [[Second Red Scare]] in the 1950s, the [[United States federal government]] accused him of [[communist]] sympathies. In 1950, despite protests by his colleagues and without any evidence of the allegations, he was stripped of his [[United States security clearance|security clearance]].<ref name="JPL" /><ref name="Perrett2008b">{{Cite journal |last=Perrett |first=Bradley |last2=Asker |first2=James R. |date=January 7, 2008 |title=Person of the Year: Qian Xuesen |url=http://aviationweek.com/awin/qian-xuesen-laid-foundation-china-s-space-rise |url-status=live |journal=Aviation Week and Space Technology |volume=168 |pages=57–61 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208210404/http://aviationweek.com/awin/qian-xuesen-laid-foundation-china-s-space-rise |archive-date=December 8, 2015 |access-date=February 2, 2015 |number=1}}{{subscription required}}</ref> He was given a deferred deportation order by the [[Immigration and Naturalization Service]], and for the following five years, he and his family were subjected to partial house arrest and government surveillance in an effort to gradually make his technical knowledge obsolete.<ref name="JPL" />  After spending five years under [[house arrest]],<ref name="Caltech2009">{{Cite web |date=November 2, 2009 |title=Tsien Hsue-Shen Dies |url=http://today.caltech.edu/today/story-display.tcl?story_id=39604 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612190920/http://today.caltech.edu/today/story-display.tcl?story_id=39604 |archive-date=June 12, 2010 |access-date=February 2, 2015 |website=Caltech}}</ref> he was released in 1955 in exchange for the repatriation of American pilots who had been captured during the [[Korean War]]. He left the United States in September 1955 on the [[American President Lines]] passenger liner [[SS President Cleveland (1947)|SS ''President Cleveland'']], arriving in mainland China via [[Hong Kong]].<ref name="StLouisPost-Dispatch1955">{{Cite news |date=September 13, 1955 |title=US Deporting Rocket Expert |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/139758006/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724062043/https://www.newspapers.com/image/139758006/ |archive-date=July 24, 2023 |access-date=April 28, 2023 |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch}}</ref>

Upon his return, he helped lead development of the [[Dongfeng ballistic missile]] and the [[Chinese space program]]. He also played a significant part in the construction and development of China's defense industry, higher education and research system, [[People's Liberation Army Rocket Force|rocket force]], and [[University of Science and Technology of China|a key technology university]].<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=zh:钱学森：毕生为强国 |url=https://www.cas.cn/zt/rwzt/qxsssyzn/jnwz/201010/t20101031_3000080.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305034339/https://www.cas.cn/zt/rwzt/qxsssyzn/jnwz/201010/t20101031_3000080.html |archive-date=March 5, 2023 |access-date=March 5, 2023 |website=Chinese Academy of Sciences |language=zh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |script-title=zh:钱学森与中国科学技术大学 |url=https://www.cas.cn/zt/rwzt/qxsssyzn/jnwz/200911/t20091113_2654745.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200405164515/http://www.cas.cn/zt/rwzt/qxsssyzn/jnwz/200911/t20091113_2654745.html |archive-date=April 5, 2020 |access-date=March 5, 2023 |website=Chinese Academy of Sciences |language=zh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |script-title=zh:钱学森关于教育问题的一次谈话 |url=http://zqb.cyol.com/content/2009-12/02/content_2963646.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305034335/http://zqb.cyol.com/content/2009-12/02/content_2963646.htm |archive-date=March 5, 2023 |access-date=March 5, 2023 |website=China Youth Daily |language=zh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |script-title=zh:科学技术体系学研究的开创者 |url=https://www.cas.cn/zt/rwzt/qxs/zydn/200912/t20091217_2709971.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305040253/https://www.cas.cn/zt/rwzt/qxs/zydn/200912/t20091217_2709971.shtml |archive-date=March 5, 2023 |access-date=March 5, 2023 |website=Chinese Academy of Sciences |language=zh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |script-title=zh:"火箭军"之名从哪儿来：1956年元旦由钱学森提出 |url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1415968 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104160801/https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1415968 |archive-date=November 4, 2020 |access-date=March 5, 2023 |website=The Paper |language=zh}}</ref> For his contributions, he became known as the "Father of Chinese Rocketry" and was nicknamed the "King of Rocketry".<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 31, 2009 |script-title=zh:钱学森：历尽险阻报效祖国 火箭之王淡泊名誉 |trans-title=Qian Xuesen: King of Rocketry who experienced obstacles in serving the Motherland |url=http://scitech.people.com.cn/GB/10294899.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303191921/http://scitech.people.com.cn/GB/10294899.html |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |access-date=October 31, 2009 |website=People's Daily |language=zh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=October 31, 2009 |script-title=zh:美国航空周刊2008年度人物:钱学森 |trans-title=US Aviation Week & Space Technology Person of the Year 2008: Qian Xuesen |url=http://news.163.com/09/1031/17/5MVIKNT90001124J.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091103163709/http://news.163.com/09/1031/17/5MVIKNT90001124J.html |archive-date=November 3, 2009 |access-date=November 11, 2009 |website=NetEase |language=zh}}</ref> He is recognized as one of the founding fathers of [[Two Bombs, One Satellite]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 30, 2016 |script-title=zh:23位两弹一星元勋已有17人离世 媒体解析其功绩 |url=http://news.china.com/domesticgd/10000159/20160529/22762769.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831035356/https://news.china.com/domesticgd/10000159/20160529/22762769.html |archive-date=August 31, 2018 |access-date=August 31, 2018 |work=China.com |language=zh}}</ref>

In 1957, Qian was elected an [[academician]] of the [[Chinese Academy of Sciences]]. He served as a [[Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference]] from 1987 to 1998.

He was the cousin of engineer [[Hsue-Chu Tsien]], who was involved in the aerospace industries of both China and the United States. He is a cousin of the father of [[Roger Y. Tsien]], the 2008 winner of the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]].<ref name="Williams_2007">{{cite journal |author=Ruth Williams |title=People & Ideas – Roger Tsien: Bringing color to cell biology |journal=J Cell Biol |volume=179 |issue=1 |pages=6–8 |date=October 8, 2007 |pmid=17923526 |pmc=2064723 |doi=10.1083/jcb.1791pi |last2=Horsfall |first2=MJ |last3=Van Helten |first3=JB |last4=Glickman |first4=BW |last5=Mohn |first5=GR}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Qian was born in the [[Shanghai International Settlement]], with ancestral roots in [[Lin'an District|Lin'an]], Hangzhou, in 1911. His parents were Qian Junfu and Zhang Lanjuan.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lü |first=Chengdong |title=Return to China One Day |publisher=Springer |year=2022 |isbn=978-981-19-5755-0 |pages=1–31 |chapter=Family and Education |doi=10.1007/978-981-19-5755-0_1}}</ref> He graduated from the [[High School Affiliated to Beijing Normal University]], and attended [[Shanghai Jiaotong University]]. There, he received a bachelor's degree in [[mechanical engineering]] with an emphasis on railroad administration in 1934.<ref name="CASS">{{Cite web |script-title=zh:钱学森在美国的20年(1935年-1955年) |url=https://www.cas.cn/zt/rwzt/qxsssyzn/jnwz/201010/t20101031_3000029.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200405164506/http://www.cas.cn/zt/rwzt/qxsssyzn/jnwz/201010/t20101031_3000029.html |archive-date=April 5, 2020 |access-date=March 5, 2023 |website=Science and Technology Daily |language=zh}}</ref> He interned at [[Nanchang Air Force Base]].

After graduating from college, Qian was admitted to the [[Boxer Indemnity Scholarship]] program, enabling him to study in the United States. He left China in August 1935, and went to the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT) for a master's program in mechanical engineering.<ref name="CASS" /> He received a [[Master of Science]] in aeronautical engineering from MIT on December 18, 1936.<ref name="QianLibraryShanghai">{{Cite web |script-title=zh:钱学森的硕、博士学位证书 |trans-title=Qian Xuesen's master's and doctoral degree certificates |url=https://www.qianxslib.sjtu.edu.cn/research/research04_details.php?articleid=92 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422113516/http://www.qianxslib.sjtu.edu.cn/research/research04_details.php?articleid=92 |archive-date=April 22, 2021 |access-date=March 24, 2023 |website=Qian Xuesen Library and Museum, Shanghai Jiao Tong University |language=zh}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite thesis |last=Tsien |first=Hsue-Shen |title=Study of the turbulent boundary layer |degree=MS |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |year=1936 |hdl=1721.1/111566}}</ref> His master's thesis was titled ''Study of the turbulent boundary layer''.<ref name=":1" />

While at MIT, Qian was influenced by the methods of American engineering education, especially its focus on experimentation. This was in contrast to the contemporary approach practiced by many Chinese scientists, which emphasized theoretical elements rather than direct experience. Qian's experiments included plotting of pitot pressures using mercury-filled manometers.

[[Theodore von Kármán]], Qian's doctoral advisor, described their first meeting:
{{blockquote|One day in 1936, he came to me for advice on further graduate studies. This was our first meeting. I looked up to observe a slight, short young man, with a serious look, who answered my questions with unusual precision. I was immediately impressed with the keenness and quickness of his mind, and I suggested that he enroll at Caltech for advanced study ... Tsien agreed. He worked with me on many mathematical problems. I found him to be quite imaginative, with a mathematical aptitude that he combined successfully with a great ability to visualize accurately the physical picture of natural phenomena. Even as a young student, he helped clear up some of my own ideas on several difficult topics. These are gifts which I had not often encountered and Tsien and I became close colleagues.<ref>Theodore von Kármán with Lee Edson (1967) ''The Wind and Beyond'', chapter 38: Dr. Tsien of Red China, pp.&nbsp;308–315.</ref>{{rp|309}}}}

Kármán made his home a social scene for the aerodynamicists of Pasadena, and Qian was drawn in: "Tsien enjoyed visiting my home, and [[Josephine de Karman|my sister]] took to him because of his interesting ideas and straightforward manner."

Shortly after arriving at the [[California Institute of Technology]] in 1936, Qian became fascinated with the rocketry ideas of [[Frank Malina]], other students of von Kármán, and their associates, including [[Jack Parsons]]. Along with his fellow students, he was involved in rocket-related experiments at the [[Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory]] at Caltech. Around the university, the dangerous and explosive nature of their work earned them the nickname "Suicide Squad".<ref name="CalTech" />{{sfn|Chang|1995|pp=109–117}} Qian received a [[Doctor of Philosophy]] {{lang|la|magna cum laude}} in [[aeronautics]] and mathematics from Caltech on June 9, 1939.<ref name="QianLibraryShanghai" /><ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Tsien |first=Hsue-shen |title=Problems in motion of compressible fluids and reaction propulsion |access-date=June 12, 2018 |degree=PhD |url=http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-01122004-105646 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308190642/https://thesis.library.caltech.edu/133/ |archive-date=March 8, 2023 |year=1939 |institution=[[California Institute of Technology]] |url-status=live}}</ref> His doctoral dissertation was titled ''Problems in motion of compressible fluids and reaction propulsion''.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Tsien |first=Hsue Shen |title=Problems in Motion of Compressible Fluids and Reaction Propulsion |date=1939 |degree=phd |publisher=California Institute of Technology |url=https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-01122004-105646 |language=en}}</ref>

== Career in the United States ==
In 1943, Qian and two other members of their rocketry group drafted the first document to use the name [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Qian Xuesen (Tsien Hsue-Shen) |url=http://www.galcit.caltech.edu/about/legends-of-galcit/qian-xuesen-tsien-hsue-shen |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230711154051/https://www.galcit.caltech.edu/about/legends-of-galcit/qian-xuesen-tsien-hsue-shen |archive-date=July 11, 2023 |access-date=July 29, 2023 |website=GALCIT – Graduate Aerospace Laboratories}}</ref> In response to the German [[V-1 cruise missile]] and [[V-2 rocket]], he and other important US scientists developed a variety of highly effective missiles that were vital in the closing stages of [[World War II]].<ref name="Brown2009">{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Kerry |date=November 1, 2009 |title=Qian Xuesen obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/nov/01/qian-xuesen-obituary |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

In 1945, as an Army colonel with a security clearance, Qian was sent to Germany to investigate laboratories and question German scientists, including [[Wernher von Braun]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wines |first=Michael |date=November 4, 2009 |title=Qian Xuesen, Father of China's Space Program, Dies at 98 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/world/asia/04qian.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028024529/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/world/asia/04qian.html |archive-date=October 28, 2017 |access-date=November 24, 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=November 4, 2009 |title=Trained in the U.S., Scientist Became China's 'Rocket King' |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125721495250424443 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190911114220/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125721495250424443 |archive-date=September 11, 2019 |access-date=November 24, 2019 |work=[[Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref> and "to recruit German scientists for the American missile program".<ref name="TorontoStar1969">{{Cite news |date=August 9, 1969 |title=The first Western look at the secret H-bomb centre in China |work=[[The Toronto Star]] |page=10}}</ref><ref name="AtomicHeritageFoundation">{{Cite web |title=Qian Xuesen, Physicist, China |url=https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/profile/qian-xuesen/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128025801/https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/profile/qian-xuesen/ |archive-date=January 28, 2023 |access-date=January 27, 2023 |publisher=Atomic Heritage Foundation}}</ref>

Von Kármán wrote of Qian, "At the age of 36, he was an undisputed genius whose work was providing an enormous impetus to advances in high-speed aerodynamics and jet propulsion."<ref name="Perrett2008a">{{Cite journal |last=Perrett |first=Bradley |date=January 6, 2008 |title=Qian Xuesen Laid Foundation For Space Rise in China |url=http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=awst&id=news/aw010708p1.xml |url-status=dead |journal=Aviation Week and Space Technology |volume=168 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521055346/http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=awst&id=news%2Faw010708p1.xml |archive-date=May 21, 2011 |access-date=February 2, 2015 |number=1}}</ref> During this time, he worked on designing an intercontinental space plane, which would later inspire the [[X-20 Dyna-Soar]], a precursor to the American [[Space Shuttle]].

Qian married [[Jiang Ying (musician)|Jiang Ying]], a famed opera singer and the daughter of [[Jiang Baili]] and his wife, Japanese nurse Satô Yato. The elder Jiang was a military strategist and adviser to [[Kuomintang]] leader [[Chiang Kai-shek]]. The Qians were married on September 14, 1947{{sfn|Chang|1995|p=139}} in Shanghai, and had two children; their son Qian Yonggang ({{zhi|c=钱永刚}}, also known as Yucon Qian<ref>{{Cite web |title=California Institute of Technology scientist, Dr. Hsue-shen Tsien with his family onboard SS President Cleveland, 1955 |url=https://dl.library.ucla.edu/islandora/object/edu.ucla.library.specialCollections.latimes:4566 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323161114/https://dl.library.ucla.edu/islandora/object/edu.ucla.library.specialCollections.latimes:4566 |archive-date=March 23, 2019 |access-date=March 24, 2019 |publisher=Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive}}</ref>) was born in [[Boston]] on October 13, 1948,{{sfn|Chang|1995|p=141}} while their daughter Qian Yongzhen ({{zhi|c=钱永真}}) was born in early 1950{{sfn|Chang|1995|p=153}} when the family was residing in [[Pasadena, California]].

Shortly after his wedding, Qian returned to America to take up a teaching position at MIT. Jiang Ying would join him in December 1947.{{sfn|Chang|1995|pp=139–140}} In 1949, with the recommendation of von Kármán, Qian became a Robert H. Goddard Professor of Jet Propulsion at Caltech.<ref name="CalTech">{{Cite web |title=GALCIT History |url=https://galcit.caltech.edu/about/history |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305110242/https://galcit.caltech.edu/about/history |archive-date=March 5, 2021 |access-date=January 31, 2023 |website=CalTech}}</ref> He was also appointed the first director of the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Jet Propulsion Center at Caltech.<ref name="Brown2009" />

In 1947, Qian was granted a permanent resident permit,<ref name="StLouisPost-Dispatch1955" /> and in 1949, he applied for naturalization, although he could not obtain citizenship.<ref name="Perrett2008b" /> Years later, his wife Jiang Ying said in an interview with [[Phoenix Television]] that Qian did not apply for naturalization at all.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 18, 2012 |script-title=zh:2012-02-18我的中国心 天籁美音——蒋英 |trans-title=My Chinese Heart heavenly tone: Jiang Ying |url=http://v.ifeng.com/history/renwujingdian//201202/18b53c55-2072-4e66-90d8-5cea9450fd38.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513161304/http://v.ifeng.com/history/renwujingdian//201202/18b53c55-2072-4e66-90d8-5cea9450fd38.shtml |archive-date=May 13, 2012 |access-date=February 2, 2015 |publisher=Phoenix Television |language=zh}}</ref>

<gallery mode=packed heights=200px>
File:Tsien Hsue-shen.jpg|Qian in the early 1940s
File:Qian Xuesen’s “general identification document” and “special identification document”.jpg|Qian's "general identification document" and "special identification document" issued by the US War Department, 1945
File:Left-right Ludwig Prandtl, Theodore Von Karman, Tsien Hsue-sen.jpg|Left to right: [[Ludwig Prandtl]], Qian Xuesen, [[Theodore von Kármán]]. Prandtl served Germany during World War II; von Kármán and Qian served the United States; after 1955, Qian served China. Qian's overseas cap displays his temporary [[United States Army]] rank of colonel. Prandtl was von Kármán's doctoral adviser; von Kármán, in turn, was Qian's.
File:Hsue-shen Tsien at his deportation hearing.jpg|Qian at his deportation hearing, 1950. Others, from left, are Grant B. Cooper, Xuesen's attorney; a hearing reporter, Albert Del Guercio, examining officer, and Ray Waddell, hearing officer.
</gallery>

=== Detention ===
By the early 1940s, U.S. Army Intelligence was already aware of allegations that Qian was a communist, but his security clearance was not suspended until prior to the [[Korean War]].{{sfn|Chang|1995|p=158}} On June 6, 1950, the Army abruptly revoked Qian's security clearance, and he was questioned by the FBI. Despite support from his colleagues and no proof of the allegations, he received a deferred deportation order from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and for the following five years, he and his family were subjected to partial house arrest and government surveillance intended to undermine his technical expertise.<ref name="JPL" /> Two weeks later, Qian announced that he would resign from Caltech.<ref name="Caltech2009" />{{sfn|Chang|1995|pp=149–150}}

While at Caltech, Qian had secretly attended meetings with [[J. Robert Oppenheimer]]'s brother [[Frank Oppenheimer]], [[Jack Parsons]], and [[Frank Malina]] that were organized by the Russian-born Jewish chemist Sidney Weinbaum and called Professional Unit 122 of the Pasadena Communist Party.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Monk |first=Ray |title=Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside the Center |publisher=Random House |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-385-50407-2 |location=New York}}</ref>  Weinbaum's trial commenced on August 30 and both Frank Oppenheimer and Parsons testified against him.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pendle |first=George |title=Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons |last2=Parsons |first2=John Whiteside |publisher=Orion |year=2005 |isbn=0-297-84853-4 |page=291}}</ref> Weinbaum was convicted of perjury and sentenced to four years.{{sfn|Chang|1995|p=159}} Qian was taken into custody on September 6, 1950, for questioning <ref name="StLouisPost-Dispatch1955" /> and for two weeks was detained at [[Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island|Terminal Island]], a low-security United States federal prison near the ports of Los Angeles and [[Long Beach]]. According to [[Theodore von Kármán]]'s autobiography, when Qian refused to testify against his old friend Sidney Weinbaum, the FBI decided to launch an investigation on Qian.{{sfn|Chang|1995|pp=152-153}}

In August, Qian spoke with [[Dan A. Kimball]], the [[United States Under Secretary of the Navy]] at the time, whom he knew personally.{{sfn|Chang|1995|p=155}} During their conversation, Qian described the FBI visits and the indignity of losing his security clearance, even breaking down in tears.{{sfn|Chang|1995|p=155}} Kimball, determined to help, referred Qian to a lawyer in [[Washington, DC]], to assist him in having his security clearance restored.{{sfn|Chang|1995|p=155}} Qian intended to return to China to resolve family issues and later come back to the United States, but Kimball preferred that Qian remain in the USA.{{sfn|Chang|1995|pp=156–157}}

After the packing company moving Qian's belongings to mainland China informed U.S. Customs that some of Qian's documents were marked "Secret" and "Confidential," U.S. officials raided the packing company's warehouse in [[Pasadena, California]].{{sfn|Chang|1995|p=156}} The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service issued a warrant for Qian's arrest on August 25.{{sfn|Chang|1995|p=156}} Qian stated that all classified documents were locked in a cabinet in his office, and he gave the keys to a colleague, [[Clark Blanchard Millikan]].{{sfn|Chang|1995|p=157}} In a press statement, Qian clarified, "There are some drawings and logarithm tables, etc., which someone might have mistaken for codes. I wished to take my personal notes, many of which were merely lecture notes, and other material with me for study while I was gone. I most certainly was not attempting to take anything of a secret nature with me or trying to leave the country in any but the accepted manner."{{sfn|Chang|1995|p=157}} The material included "newspaper, magazine, and scientific journal clippings on the U.S. atomic energy program" and news clippings about the trials of those charged with atomic espionage, such as [[Klaus Fuchs]].{{sfn|Chang|1995|p=160}} Subsequent examination of the documents showed they contained no classified material.<ref name="StLouisPost-Dispatch1955" /> Various agencies, such as The [[United States Atomic Energy Commission]], noted that the information held by Qian was unclassified information and did not pose a threat to national security.{{sfn|Chang|1995|p=160}} They further explained that the technical papers in Qian's collection were either outdated or authored by him, and that all the documents he had were characteristic of those held by top experts in the fields of aircraft and missile design.{{sfn|Chang|1995|p=160}}

On April 26, 1951, Qian was declared subject to deportation and forbidden from leaving [[Los Angeles County]] without permission, effectively placing him under [[house arrest]].{{sfn|Ryan|Summerlin|1968|p=141}}

During this time, Qian wrote ''Engineering Cybernetics'', which was published by [[McGraw Hill]] in 1954. The book deals with the practice of stabilizing [[servomechanism]]s. In its 18 chapters, it considers non-interacting controls of many-variable systems, control design by [[perturbation theory]], and [[John von Neumann]]'s theory of [[error control]]. Ezra Krendel reviewed<ref>Ezra Krendel (1955) "Review of Engineering Cybernetics", [[Journal of the Franklin Institute]] 259(4): 367</ref> the book, stating that it is "difficult to overstate the value of Qian's book to those interested in the overall theory of complex [[control system]]s". Evidently, Qian's approach is primarily practical, as Krendel notes that for servomechanisms, the "usual linear design criterion of stability is inadequate and other criteria arising from the physics of the problem must be used."

== Return to China ==
[[File:Hsue-shen Tsien with his family onboard SS President Cleveland.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Qian and his family aboard SS ''President Cleveland'' before its departure from Los Angeles, 1955]]
Qian became the subject of five years of secret diplomacy and negotiation between the U.S. and China. During this time, he lived under constant surveillance with the permission to teach without any classified research duties.<ref name="Caltech2009" /> Qian received support from his colleagues at Caltech during his incarceration, including president [[Lee DuBridge]], who flew to Washington to argue Qian's case. Caltech appointed attorney [[Grant Cooper]] to defend Qian.

The travel ban on Qian was lifted on August 4, 1955,<ref name="StLouisPost-Dispatch1955" /> and he resigned from Caltech shortly thereafter. With [[Dwight Eisenhower]] agreeing, Qian departed from Los Angeles for Hong Kong aboard the {{SS|President Cleveland|1947|6}} in September 1955 amidst rumors that his release was a swap for 11 U.S. airmen held captive by communist China since the end of the Korean War.<ref>Brownell, Richard. Space exploration. Detroit, Lucent Books, 2012. 82 p.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Tsien |url=http://www.astronautix.com/t/tsien.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820130621/http://www.astronautix.com/t/tsien.html |archive-date=August 20, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=September 13, 1955 |title=Scientist To Be Deported By U.S. |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CooeAAAAIBAJ&pg=3115%2C1559834 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623194039/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CooeAAAAIBAJ&pg=3115%2C1559834 |archive-date=June 23, 2021 |access-date=February 2, 2015 |work=DAytona Beach Morning Journal |agency=AP}}</ref> Qian arrived at Hong Kong on October 8, 1955, and entered mainland China via the [[Kowloon–Canton Railway]] later that day.

Under Secretary Kimball, who had tried for several years to keep Qian in the U.S., commented on his treatment: "It was the stupidest thing this country ever did. He was no more a communist than I was, and we forced him to go."<ref name="Perrett2008b" />

Upon his return, Qian began a successful career in rocket science, boosted by the reputation he garnered for his past achievements as well as Chinese state support for his nuclear research. He led, and eventually became the father of, the Chinese missile program, which constructed the [[Silkworm (missile)|Silkworm]] missiles,<ref name="Wang2000">{{Cite journal |last=Wang |first=Zuoyue |date=September 2000 |title=Thread of the Silkworm – Iris Chang |journal=Isis |volume=91 |issue=3 |pages=628–629 |doi=10.1086/384927 |issn=0021-1753}}</ref> the [[Dongfeng (missile)|Dongfeng ballistic missiles]] and the [[Long March (rocket family)|Long March space rockets]].

== Career in China ==
In October 1956, Qian became the director of the [[China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation|Fifth Academy]] of the [[Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China|Ministry of National Defense]], tasked with ballistic missile and nuclear weapons development.

Qian's reputation as a prominent scientist who was caught up in the [[Red Scare#Second Red Scare (1947–1957)|Red Scare]] in the United States gave him considerable influence during the Mao era and afterward. Qian eventually rose through Party ranks to become a [[Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]] member. He became associated with the ''China's Space Program – From Conception to Manned Spaceflight'' initiative.

In 1955, Qian returned to China as part of an agreement for the release of American prisoners in China, and he was welcomed as a hero.<ref name="Wang2000" /> He soon took charge of the country's missile and satellite programs.<ref name="Wang2000" /> Qian survived both the Anti-Rightist Campaign of 1957 and the Cultural Revolution by adapting to the shifting political climate in China.<ref name="Wang2000" /> For example, in 1958, Qian wrote an article with "scientific" support of the [[Great Leap Forward]].<ref name="Wang2000" /> In 1989, after the [[Tiananmen massacre]], he denounced the demonstrators as 'evil elements' and described dissident astrophysicist [[Fang Lizhi]] 'the scum of the nation'.<ref name="Southerl1996">{{Cite news |last=Southerl |first=Daniel |date=January 21, 1996 |title=The U.S. Genius Who Armed China |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1996/01/21/the-us-genius-who-armed-china/3f1de4c6-70e7-49ba-8fc5-7c22a3c7919d/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907143438/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1996/01/21/the-us-genius-who-armed-china/3f1de4c6-70e7-49ba-8fc5-7c22a3c7919d/ |archive-date=September 7, 2021 |access-date=July 6, 2023 |work=The Washington Post}}</ref>

Qian was elected as an [[academician]] of the [[Chinese Academy of Sciences]] in 1957, a lifelong honor granted to Chinese scientists who have made significant advancements in their field. He organized scientific seminars and dedicated some of his time to training successors for his positions.<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=zh:钱学森的系统科学成就和贡献 |url=http://www.stdaily.com/kjrb/content/2010-10/24/content_239983.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514150132/http://www.stdaily.com/kjrb/content/2010-10/24/content_239983.htm |archive-date=May 14, 2012 |website=Science and Technology Daily |language=zh}}</ref>

He was heavily involved in the establishment of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 1958 and served as the Chairman of the Department of Modern Mechanics of the university for a number of years.

According to Qian, at a meeting in 1964, "suddenly Chairman Mao asked me if it was possible to shoot down a missile, I replied that it should be possible."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Cunningham |first=Fiona S. |title=Under the Nuclear Shadow: China's Information-Age Weapons in International Security |date=2025 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=978-0-691-26103-4 |location=}}</ref>{{Rp|page=250}} In 1966, China formally began to develop a missile interceptor system.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=250}}

In 1969, Qian was one of a group of scientists who spoke with Australian journalist [[Francis James]], describing [[List of nuclear weapons tests of China|China's first seven nuclear tests]] and details of a [[gaseous diffusion]] plant near [[Lanzhou]].<ref name="TorontoStar1969" /><ref name="AtomicHeritageFoundation" />

Outside of rocketry, Qian had a presence in numerous areas of study. He was among the creators of [[systematics]], and made contributions to science and technology systems, [[somatic science]], [[engineering science]], [[military science]], [[social science]], the [[natural sciences]], geography, philosophy, literature and art, and education. His advancements in the concepts, theories, and methods of the [[system science]] field include studying the [[open complex giant system]].<ref>{{lang|zh|钱学森：《创建系统学（新世纪版）》，上海交通大学出版社}}</ref><ref>{{lang|zh|钱学森：《论系统工程（新世纪版）》，上海交通大学出版社}}</ref> Additionally, he helped establish the Chinese school of [[complexity science]].

From the 1980s onward, Qian had advocated the scientific investigation of [[traditional Chinese medicine]], [[qigong]], and the pseudoscientific concept of "special human body functions". He particularly encouraged scientists to accumulate observational data on qigong so that "future scientific theories could be established".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Qian |first=Xuesen |date=May 1989 |publisher=Sichuan Education Publishing House |location=Chengdu |script-title=zh:创建人体科学》 |display-authors=etal}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Xutian |first=Stevenson |last2=Zhang |first2=Jun |last3=Louise |first3=Wozniak |date=2009 |title=New exploration and understanding of traditional Chinese medicine |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19606504/ |url-status=live |journal=The American Journal of Chinese Medicine |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=411–426 |doi=10.1142/S0192415X09006941 |issn=0192-415X |pmid=19606504 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707162427/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19606504/ |archive-date=July 7, 2023 |access-date=July 6, 2023 |quote=Utilizing his frontier experience and up-to-date scientific knowledge, Dr. Qian Xuesen has been trying to incorporate some key principles with the comprehensive understanding of TCM and clarify difficult but important concepts and principles}}</ref>

In Qian's view, China should take a retaliatory nuclear posture as a form of deterrence.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=85}} He stated in 1986, "We must have a certain number, or what is called a minimum nuclear counterattack capability. Of course, these strategic weapons cannot be eliminated by an adversery, their ability to survive must be high, their reaction must be quick, their penetration capability must be strong."<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=85}}

As vice chairman for the Science and Technology Committee of the [[Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense|Commission for Science, Technology, and Industry]] (COSTIND) in 1989, Qian contended that Western reports predicting a post-nuclear weapon era following the end of the Cold War were "deceiving people, they are all false."<ref name=":0"/>{{Rp|page=80}} Qian stated, "Even if nuclear weapons were useless, would you ask the United States and the Soviets if it is ok to destroy all of their nuclear weapons? It is not at all the case that nuclear weapons are now useless, their utility is now in deterrence."<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=80}} In a 1992 COSTIND speech, he stated regarding China's nuclear deterrence, "[O]f course, we do not need to do this on a large scale, but if you do not have [these weapons], people want to coerce you and bully you."<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=86}}

== Later life ==
[[File:Qian Xuesen Library, Shanghai Jiao Tong University 04.JPG|thumb|{{ill|Qian Xuesen Library|zh|钱学森图书馆 (上海交通大学)}}, Shanghai Jiaotong University]]

Qian retired in 1991 and lived quietly in Beijing, refusing to speak to Westerners.<ref>Peter Grier, "The forgotten 'spy' case of a rocket scientist" ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' Vol. 92 Issue 244, November 2000</ref>

In 1979, Qian was awarded Caltech's ''Distinguished Alumni Award'' for his achievements. Qian eventually received his award from Caltech, and with the help of his friend [[Frank Marble]], brought it to his home in a widely covered ceremony. Furthermore, in the early 1990s, the filing cabinets containing Qian's research work were offered to him by Caltech.

Qian was invited to visit the U.S. by the [[American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics]] after the normalization of relations between the two countries, but he refused the invitation, having wanted a formal apology for his detention. In a reminiscence published in 2002, Marble stated that he believed Qian had "lost faith in the American government" but that he had "always had very warm feelings for the American people."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tsien Revisited |url=http://pr.caltech.edu/periodicals/CaltechNews/articles/v36/tsien.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061211095210/http://pr.caltech.edu/periodicals/CaltechNews/articles/v36/tsien.html |archive-date=December 11, 2006 |access-date=December 15, 2005}}</ref> Despite this, Qian approved the decision of both his children, US citizens by birth, to return to the US to study.<ref name="Southerl1996" />

The Chinese government launched its manned space program in 1992, reportedly with some help from Russia due to their extended history in space. Qian's research was used as the basis for the [[Long March rocket]], which successfully launched the [[Shenzhou 5]] mission in October 2003. The elderly Qian was able to watch China's first manned space mission on television from his hospital bed.

In 2008, he was named ''[[Aviation Week & Space Technology]]'' Person of the Year. The recognition was not intended as an honor, but is given to the person judged to have the greatest impact on aviation in the past year.<ref name="Perrett2008a" /><ref>Hold Your Fire, Aviation Week and Space Technology, Vol. 168., No. 1, January 7, 2008, p.&nbsp;8.</ref> That year, [[China Central Television]] named Qian as one of the eleven most inspiring people in China.<ref>Person of the Year, Aviation Week and Space Technology, Vol. 168., No. 12, March 24, 2008, p.&nbsp;22.</ref>

On October 31, 2009, Qian died at the age of 97 in Beijing from lung illness.<ref name=Noland>{{Cite news |last=Noland |first=Claire |date=November 1, 2009 |title=Qian Xuesen dies at 98; rocket scientist helped establish Jet Propulsion Laboratory |url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-me-qian-xuesen1-2009nov01-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104041100/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-me-qian-xuesen1-2009nov01,0,2865408.story |archive-date=November 4, 2009 |access-date=June 2, 2025 |work=Los Angeles Times |url-status=dead |url-access=limited }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=October 31, 2009 |title=China's "father of space technology" dies at 98 |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-10/31/content_12365319.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091102183442/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-10/31/content_12365319.htm |archive-date=November 2, 2009 |access-date=November 1, 2009 |agency=Xinhua}}</ref>

== Legacy in China ==
[[File:Qian Xuesen propaganda poster.jpg|thumb|'Qian Xuesen.' Poster from the series 'Excellent sons and daughters of China', by Li Huiquan, 1990.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Huiquan |first=Li |year=1990 |title=Qian Xuesen |url=https://search.iisg.amsterdam/Record/898676 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724052101/https://search.iisg.amsterdam/Record/898676 |archive-date=July 24, 2023 |access-date=July 16, 2023 |website=search.iisg.amsterdam}}</ref>]]
After his retirement in 1991, Qian received numerous honorary titles in China, was highly praised in press and by party officials, that was even called "Qian Xuesen fever". Ning Wang describes it as Chinese propaganda campaign "to commend and eulogize" Qian's life. In 1989, public movement "learn from Qian Xuesen" was officially launched by the Commission of Science for National Defence, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Chinese Association of Science and Technology. Qian received honorary titles "State Scientist of Outstanding Contribution", got a "Medal for the First Class Heroic Model", and was called by state leaders "the People's Scientist", "National Hero" and "the Pillar of the State". For his 90th birthday in 2001, celebrations and praising were "comparable with that for [[Deng Xiaoping]] during 1992–97".<ref name="Wang2011">{{Cite journal |last=Wang |first=Ning |date=June 2011 |title=The Making of an Intellectual Hero: Chinese Narratives of Qian Xuesen |journal=The China Quarterly |volume=206 |pages=352–371 |doi=10.1017/s0305741011000300 |s2cid=146378164}}</ref>

Wang writes that heroization of Qian was made for several purposes: his "deep engagement in China's national defence programmes", "allegiance to the Party and his well-articulated commitment to state ideology", "rapid emergence of Chinese anti-Americanism", and to create a role model of a "party scientist". Wang writes that in the 1990s, students "claimed to appreciate Qian's scientific accomplishments and the significance of science and technology, taking him as a model and swearing to study hard to be the 'next Qian Xuesen'."<ref name="Wang2011" />

Qian himself tried to avoid publicity, and did not allow writing his biography until he got the title of "State Scientist". During this heroization campaigns, multiple official and unofficial biographies were published. 'Official' biographies were written by Qian's secretaries by party requests. Wang Shouyun wrote ''A Biography of Qian Xuesen'' in 1991, Tu Yuanji published another book in 2002. Unofficial biographies are based on these two books, and were published by Wang Wenhua, Qi Shuying, and Hu Shihong, among others. All the biographies lack references to source material; Wang describes all the Chinese biographies of Qian as following:<ref name="Wang2011" />
<blockquote>
From these multifarious biographies we learn that Qian was a prodigy, a scientific genius from the outset. He was gifted with a golden mind in mathematics and displayed multiple talents at young age – such as memorizing hundred of poems when he was three – and was good at music and painting when growing up. In MIT and Caltech, Qian was brighter than his classmates and surprised professors with the intelligence of Chinese youth. He was particularly good at playing darts in childhood, which presaged his talent in rocketry. ... These narratives create a near-miraculous Qian, with a strong impression that he was not only a missile expert, but an all-rounder; not only a scientific giant, but a built-in communist revolutionary.
</blockquote>

A Chinese film production, ''[[Hsue-shen Tsien (film)|Hsue-shen Tsien]]'', directed by Zhang Jianya and starring Chen Kun as Qian, was simultaneously released in Asia and North America on December 11, 2011,<ref>{{YouTube|u0TVeM3HqU4|钱学森HD1280高清国语中英双字Hsue-shen Tsien (2012)}}</ref> and on March 2, 2012, it was released in China. Biopic ''Qian Xuesen'', directed by [[Zhang Jianya]] with [[Chen Kun]], [[Zhang Yuqi]] and [[Zhang Tielin]] in the main roles, was released in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title="Qian Xuesen" & "Falling Flowers" |url=http://il.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/zt/chinese_2021/202107/t20210711_8932923.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517182640/http://il.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/zt/chinese_2021/202107/t20210711_8932923.htm |archive-date=May 17, 2024 |access-date=May 17, 2024 |website=il.china-embassy.gov.cn}}</ref>

== Selected works ==
=== Scientific papers ===
* 1938: (with [[Theodore von Karman]]) "Boundary Layer in Compressible Fluids", ''Journal of Aeronautical Sciences'', April
* 1938: "Supersonic Flow Over an Inclined Body of Revolution", ''Journal of Aeronautical Sciences'', October
* 1938: (with [[Frank Malina]]) "Flight analysis of a Sounding Rocket with Special Reference to Propulsion by Successive Impulses", ''Journal of Aeronautical Sciences'', December
* 1939: [http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/8.916 Two-dimensional subsonic flow of compressible fluids], ''Journal of Aeronautical Sciences'' 6(10): 399–407.<ref>N. Coburn (1945) "The Kármán–Tsien Pressure-Volume Relation n the Two-dimensional Supersonic Flow of Compressible Fluids", ''Quarterly of Applied Mathematics'' 3: 106–16.</ref>
* 1939: (with [[Theodore von Kármán]]) [http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/8.1019 The buckling of thin cylindrical shells under axial compression], ''Journal of Aeronautical Sciences'' 7(2):43 to 50.
* 1943: "Symmetrical Joukowsky Airfoils in shear flow", ''Quarterly of Applied Mathematics'', 1: 130–48.
* 1943: [http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/8.10985 On the Design of the Contraction Cone for a Wind Tunnel], ''Journal of Aeronautical Sciences'', 10(2): 68–70.
* 1945: (with Theodore von Kármán), "Lifting- line Theory for a Wing in Nonuniform Flow," ''Quarterly of Applied Mathematics'', 3: 1–11.
* 1946: "Similarity laws of hypersonic flows", [[MIT Journal of Mathematics and Physics]] 25: 247–251, {{mr |id = 0018074 }}.
* 1946: "Superaerodynamics, Mechanics of Rarefied Gases", ''Journal of the Aeronautical Sciences'', 13 (12)
* 1949: "Rockets and Other Thermal Jets Using Nuclear Energy", in ''The Science and Engineering of Nuclear Power'', Addison-Wesley, Vol. 2.
* 1950: "Instruction and Research at the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Jet Propulsion Center", ''Journal of the American Rocket Society'', June 1950
* 1951: "Optimum Thrust Programming for a Sounding Rocket" (with Robert C. Evans), ''Journal of the American Rocket Society'' 21(5)
* 1952: "The Transfer Functions of Rocket Nozzles", ''Journal of the American Rocket Society'' 22(3)
* 1952: "A Similarity Law for Stressing Rapidly Heated Thin-Walled Cylinders" (with C.M.Cheng), ''Journal of the American Rocket Society'' 22(3)
* 1952: "Automatic Navigation of a Long Range Rocket Vehicle", (with T.D.Adamson and E.L. Knuth) ''Journal of the American Rocket Society'' 22(4)
* 1952: "A Method for Comparing the Performance of Power Plants for Vertical Flight", ''Journal of the American Rocket Society'' 22(4)
* 1952: "Serbo-Stabilization of Combustion in Rocket Motors", ''Journal of the American Rocket Society'' 22(5)
* 1953: "Physical Mechanics, a New Field in Engineering Science", ''Journal of the American Rocket Society'' 23(1)
* 1953: "The Properties of Pure Liquids", ''Journal of the American Rocket Society'' 23(1)
* 1953: "Take-Off from Satellite Orbit", ''Journal of the American Rocket Society'' 23(4)
* 1956: "The Poincaré-Lighthill-Kuo Method", ''Advances in Applied Mechanics'' 4: 281–349, {{mr |id=0079929}}.
* 1958: "The equations of gas dynamics", in ''Fundamentals of Gas Dynamics'' v. 3, [[Princeton University Press]], {{mr |id=0097212}}.

=== Monographs ===
* 1954: {{Cite book |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3734950;view=1up;seq=7 |title=Engineering Cybernetics |date=April 4, 2020 |publisher=McGraw Hill |location=New York |oclc=299574775}}
** 1957: {{Cite book |title=Technische Kybernetik |publisher=Berliner Union |location=Stuttgart |language=de |translator-last=Kaltenecker |translator-first=H.}}
* 2007: {{Cite book |title=Hydrodynamics |publisher=Jiaotong University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-7-313-04199-9 |type=manuscript facsimile}}

== Biographies ==
* ''[[Thread of the Silkworm]]'' (1996) by [[Iris Chang]]

== See also ==
{{Portal|China|Physics|Systems science|Engineering|Spaceflight|Aviation|Biography}}
* [[Chien-Shiung Wu]]
* [[Ye Qisun]]
* [[Guo Yonghuai]]
* [[Hsue-Chu Tsien]]
* [[People's Liberation Army Rocket Force]]
* [[Chinese space program]]
* [[China and weapons of mass destruction]]
** [[Project 596]]
** [[Test No. 6]]
* [[China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation]] (formerly known as the Fifth Academy of the Ministry of Defense)

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Works cited ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Chang |first=Iris |author-link=Iris Chang |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QtfndLdZhnAC |title=Thread of the Silkworm |publisher=Basic |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-465-08716-7 |location=New York}}
* O'Donnell, Franklin (2002). [http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/about_JPL/jpl101.pdf JPL 101] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624182015/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/about_JPL/jpl101.pdf |date=June 24, 2017 }}. California Institute of Technology. JPL 400–1048.
* {{Cite book |last=Harvey |first=Brian |title=China's Space Program: From Conception to Manned Spaceflight |publisher=Springer |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-85233-566-3 |location=Berlin}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Viorst |first=Milton |author-link=Milton Viorst |date=September 1967 |title=The Bitter Tea of Dr. Tsien |journal=Esquire}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ryan |first=William L. |title=The China Cloud: America's Tragic Blunder and China's Rise to Nuclear Power |last2=Summerlin |first2=Sam |publisher=Little, Brown & Co. |year=1968 |location=Boston |lccn=68024245 |oclc=443363}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060502182903/http://www.astronautix.com/articles/china.htm China], Encyclopedia Astronautica
* [http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/10/03/china.space.timeline/ CNN.com timeline of China space program]
* {{Cite web |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=In the News: The father of Chinese rocketry |url=http://archives.caltech.edu/news/tsien.html |access-date=February 2, 2015 |website=Caltech|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618212445/http://archives.caltech.edu/news/tsien.html|archive-date=18 June 2010}}
* {{Cite web |title=A revered rocket scientist set in motion China's mass surveillance of its citizens |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/revered-rocket-scientist-set-motion-china-s-mass-surveillance-its-citizens |access-date=July 12, 2023 |publisher=Science|author-first1=Mara|author-last1=Hvistendahl|date=14 March 2018}}
* {{Cite web |date=January 7, 2008 |title=ON THE COVER |url=https://aviationweek.com/cover-245 |publisher=Aviation Week & Space Technology}}

{{Cybernetics}}
{{Jet Propulsion Laboratory}}
{{CNSA space program}}
{{Founding members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering}}
{{CPPCC Vice-Chairpersons}}
{{Two Bombs, One Satellite Meritorious Medal recipients}}
{{Anti-Chinese sentiment}}
{{Touching the Heart of China}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qian, Xuesen}}
[[Category:Qian Xuesen| ]]
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Chinese engineers]]
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[[Category:Tsien family]]
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