Discussion The Ultimate Chinese Space Discussion Thread!

[Soheil_Esy]

Belarusian communication satellite

2015/08/19

The assembly of the Belarusian communication satellite's three modules was recently completed. Test phase should follow.

Belarusian specialists sent in China have completed all the trainings provided by CASC.

This project is China's first successful commercial satellite export to Europe.

http://www.chinaspaceflight.com/satellite/tongxin/BELINTERSAT-1/BELINTERSAT-1.html

Robotic arm of future space station

2015-08-17

According to the China Aviation News newspaper, the Institute CAST (China Academy of Space Technology) has completed the mechanical tests of the robotic arm prototype of future Chinese space station.

http://www.cannews.com.cn/epaper/zghkb/2015/08/18/A06/story/596395.shtml

Lunar sample collection simulation

18 August 2015

The director of CAST (China Academy of Space Technology) visited the simulation hall to watch a lunar sample collection simulation of the future lunar probe CE-5.

2 kg of moon rocks extracted, drilling up to 2 m deep

http://www.cast.cn/CastCn/Show.asp?ArticleID=49044

Orbital refuelling satellite

2015-08-19

A live demonstration of a satellite orbital refueling was performed at the Astronaut training Center. The refuelling satellite used two robotic arms.

Video
http://v.ifeng.com/news/tech/201508/0164b62f-b60f-4f2d-96ae-7843608c6bdc.shtml

2015/08/20

http://www.chinaspaceflight.com/satellite/on-orbit-satellite-servicing.html

 

[Soheil_Esy]

Past and future Fengyun meteorological satellites

2015/08/22

Future Fengyun meteorological satellite series launch covering 2011-2020 scheduled for reference purposes only.

http://www.chinaspaceflight.com/satellite/Fengyun/fengyun-2015.html

China setting up first space nuclear propulsion laboratory

2015-08-28

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the Chinese Institute of Atomic Energy Reactor Engineering Design Institute and Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics have established on August 22, a joint space nuclear propulsion technology laboratory in Beijing, which is China's first dedicated space nuclear propulsion technology research center.

http://www.dsti.net/Information/Viewpoint/68836

China to import Russian RD-180 engines

2015/08/26

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on August 25, in an interview with Russia-24 TV channel, that for the development of China's aerospace industry, plan to buy RD-180 rocket engines from Russia has been decided.

http://imil.ifeng.com/44518426/news.shtml

 

[Soheil_Esy]

Establishment of Space light alloy ring R & D center

8 September 2015

Located in Wuxi, for the CZ-9 Heavy launch vehicle program.

https://twitter.com/cnspaceflight/status/641249088432836609


CZ-11 commemoration philatelic souvenir

8 Sep 2015

Issued on occasion of the CZ-11 small solid launcher's first flight with three satellites; Shaanxi Aerospace Research Philatelic Association.

https://twitter.com/cnspaceflight/status/641453768907689985

CZ-6 commemoration philatelic souvenir

8 Sep 2015

Issued on occasion of the CZ-6 launcher's first flight with 20 satellites; Shaanxi Aerospace Research Philatelic Association.

https://twitter.com/cnspaceflight/status/641456919069065216

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Establishment of Space light alloy ring R & D center

8 September 2015

Located in Wuxi, for the CZ-9 Heavy launch vehicle program.

https://twitter.com/cnspaceflight/status/641249088432836609


CZ-11 commemoration philatelic souvenir

8 Sep 2015

Issued on occasion of the CZ-11 small solid launcher's first flight with three satellites; Shaanxi Aerospace Research Philatelic Association.

https://twitter.com/cnspaceflight/status/641453768907689985

CZ-6 commemoration philatelic souvenir

8 Sep 2015

Issued on occasion of the CZ-6 launcher's first flight with 20 satellites; Shaanxi Aerospace Research Philatelic Association.

https://twitter.com/cnspaceflight/status/641456919069065216

The appearance of these postcards means that.....launch season is coming up in China! And apparently they are pushing the throttle back to 100% with up to 5 launches this September (!). As shown above, the maiden flights of "China's Vega" Long March 6 and "China's Minotaur" Long March 11 may happen within the next 2 weeks, under the black veil that the Chinese always cover with.

Two other launches are coming up within the next 4 days with "black payloads" so please wait for my report when they happen!

 

[Soheil_Esy]

Chinese rocket launch tomorrow, according to NOTAM, from Xichang launch centre. Should be sending a satellite to GEO

Yuanwang-5 tracking ship in position ready for launch misson

9 Sep 2015

https://twitter.com/cnspaceflight/status/641530414302031872

2015年9月12日23:35-13日00:30西昌发射活动

2015/09/11

A2589/15 - A TEMPORARY RESTRICTED AREA ESTABLISHED BOUNDED BY:

N2722E10837-N2732E10743-N2715E10739-N2706E10834 BACK TO START.

VERTICAL LIMITS:GND-UNL. GND - UNL, 12 SEP 15:35 2015 UNTIL 12 SEP 16:15 2015.

CREATED: 11 SEP 07:40 2015

A2590/15 - A TEMPORARY RESTRICTED AREA ESTABLISHED BOUNDED BY:

N2609E11430-N2615E11400-N2559E11355-N2552E11425 BACK TO START.

VERTICAL LIMITS:GND-UNL. GND - UNL, 12 SEP 15:36 2015 UNTIL 12 SEP 16:30 2015.

CREATED: 11 SEP 07:43 2015

http://www.chinaspaceflight.com/satellite/XSLC-201509-launch-temp.html

Another announced for Tuesday, from Jiuquan, with satellite to SSO

2015年9月15日12:35-12:57酒泉发射活动

2015/09/11

A2591/15 - A TEMPORARY RESTRICTED AREA ESTABLISHED BOUNDED BY:

N350835E0984113-N351211E0982201-N354113E0983025-N353629E0985613 BACK TO START. VERTICAL LIMITS:GND-UNL. GND - UNL, 15 SEP 04:35 2015 UNTIL 15 SEP 04:57 2015.

CREATED: 11 SEP 07:45 2015

http://www.chinaspaceflight.com/satellite/JSLC-201509-launch-temp.html

 

[Soheil_Esy]

China builds "two bombs, one satellite" memorial museum

2015-09-13

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has built a museum to commemorate those who made China's first atomic bomb, H-bomb, and satellites in the 1960s and early 1970s, an official said Sunday.

It is the first time some researchers have had their contributions and names revealed publicly, said Cao Xiaoye, vice secretary-general of the CAS.

More than 17,000 researchers participated in the "two bombs, one satellite" project, which helped increase China's scientific and defense capabilities and contributed to growth in China's national strength.

Thanks to their efforts, China has become one of the few countries with independent knowledge of nuclear and space technology, he said.

Located on the Huairou campus of CAS University, the museum is housed at the site of the CAS's former rocket test base, which was founded in 1958.

The base was used to develop ground test operations for high energy liquid propellants and engines for long range rockets.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-09/13/c_134619466.htm

 

[Soheil_Esy]

Wenchang SLC will be open to tourists

2015-09-16

Visitors will be able to book entry tickets through dedicated space travel agencies.

Unlike other space centers, tourists will not only be able to visit the space center but even witness the rockets assembly process!

【文昌卫星发射中心】附近的五星级酒店，声称距离发射场仅3公里. 5 stars hotel, located 3km from launch site

http://www.chinanews.com/sh/2015/09-16/7527548.shtml

 

[Soheil_Esy]

China mulls 20 meters diameter telescope GEO satellite

2014, September

Thermal control scheme for ultrahigh resolution imaging system in geosynchronous orbit

This imaging satellite would be placed into a geostationary orbit: 20 m diameter thin-film mirror with total length of 100 meters, one meter resolution.

Summary:

Geostationary orbit very high-resolution imaging system using a thin film diffraction imaging system can achieve a ground resolution of under a meter. Analysis of the deployable conical hood in four extreme temperature distribution conditions is to determine the feasibility of thermal control scheme.

http://zm6.sm-img2.com/?src=http://...案&mode=&uc_param_str=dnntnwvepffrgibijbprsvpi

http://www.docin.com/p-1164161959.html

 

[Soheil_Esy]

Sep 26, 2015

China's Beidou navigation system will provide a highly accurate positioning service in major cities at the end of this year, according to the authorities on Friday.

Officials in charge of the Beidou development said that the positioning will be accurate to meter-level, even to decimeters, which is in the lead worldwide.

According to the three-phase Beidou development plan, 450 base stations will be set up before 2016 to support the accurate service. Confidential base stations will cover the whole country by the end of 2018 and the global satellite navigation system will be completed by 2020.

"The Beidou system is keeping pace with the U.S. GPS. It is regarded as a marvelous system and a milestone in China's aerospace and navigation system," said Yao Jianquan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"It does a good job in various fields including transportation, agriculture, navigation, fishery, culture and logistics," Yao added.
　
China has seen the primary sectors applied with Beidou system, while the system entered the industrialization phase. The first generation Beidou chip, module and antenna reached international standard, with the state-of-art products equipped with Beidou such as smart phones, iPad, and car GPS going into batch applications.

http://newscontent.cctv.com/NewJsp/news.jsp?fileId=318268

 

[Soheil_Esy]

China opens global contest to name dark matter probe

2015/09/29

The public will have a chance to name a Chinese dark matter probe satellite expected to be launched by the end of this year.

The competition to name the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) was announced at the Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Nanjing Tuesday. Entries from any country will be accepted until October 31 and can be submitted online at http://scitech.people.com.cn/DAMPE.

There will be five grand prize winners, 20 first prize winners, 50 second prize winners, 100 third prize winners and 500 memorial award winners. Grand prize winners will be able to watch the satellite launch in person at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

DAMPE will be the first in a program consisting of five research satellites, and its development is supported by the space science program of CAS, said Chang Jin, chief scientist of the project and PMO researcher.

Scientists believe dark matter exists based on the law of universal gravitation, but have never directly detected it.

Accounting for over a quarter of the universe's mass-energy balance, it can only be observed indirectly through its interaction with visible matter.

Based on the standard model of cosmology, the total mass-energy of the known universe contains 4.9 percent ordinary matter, 26.8 percent dark matter and 68.3 percent dark energy.

Many scientists, including Nobel prize laureate Yang Zhenning, believe that development of dark matter theory might lead to understanding phenomena that can't be explained with current knowledge, triggering "revolutionary progress" in physics.

DAMPE looks like an expensive and complicated four-layer cake turned upside down. It weighs 1.9 tonnes and its payload is 1.4 tonnes. The DAMPE project costs 100 million U.S. dollars and its lifespan is more than 3 years.

DAMPE will observe the direction, energy and electric charge of high-energy particles in space in search of dark matter.

The probe will orbit the earth to study the origin of cosmic rays and observe high-energy gamma rays. Original data from DAMPE could provide solid evidence for the existence of dark matter particles.

DAMPE will have the widest observation spectrum and highest energy resolution of any dark matter probe in the world.

Developers of DAMPE include PMO of CAS, University of Science and Technology of China, Institute of High Energy Physics of CAS, Institute of Modern Physics of CAS, National Space Science Center of CAS, University of Geneva and University of Perugia.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-09/29/c_134672117.htm

30 September 2015

I'll submit "KOXINGA" [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koxinga"]
(WIKIPEDIA)

S☫heil_Esy[/URL]

 

[Soheil_Esy]

China's space station update

Launch Date Launcher Launch site Mission Class
1 end of 2016 CZ-2F JQSLC Tiangong-2 TG-2 Space lab
2 end of 2016 CZ-2F JQSLC Shenzhou-11 SZ-11 Manned
3 beginning of 2017 CZ-7 WCSLC Tianzhou-1 TZ-1 Cargo
4 2018 CZ-7 WCSLC Tianzhou-2 TZ-2 Cargo
5 2018 CZ-2F JQSLC Shenzhou-12 SZ-12 Manned
6 mid 2018 CZ-5 WCSLC Core module Space station module
7 2019 CZ-7 WCSLC Tianzhou-3 TZ-3 Cargo
8 2019 CZ-2F JQSLC Shenzhou-13 SZ-13 Manned
9 2020 CZ-7 WCSLC Tianzhou-4 TZ-4 Cargo
10 2020 CZ-2F JQSLC Shenzhou-14 SZ-14 Manned
11 2020 CZ-5B WCSLC Wentian Lab module Space station module
12 2021 CZ-7 WCSLC Tianzhou-5 TZ-5 Cargo
13 2021 CZ-2F JQSLC Shenzhou-15 SZ-15 Manned
14 2022 CZ-7 WCSLC Tianzhou-6 TZ-6 Cargo
15 2022 CZ-2F JQSLC Shenzhou-16 SZ-16 Manned
16 2022 CZ-5B WCSLC Xuntian Lab module Space station module

October 13, 2015

China is soliciting international participation in its future manned space station in the form of foreign modules that would attach to the three-module core system, visits by foreign crew-transport vehicles for short stays and the involvement of non-Chinese researchers in placing experiments on the complex, the chief designer of China’s manned space program said Oct. 12.

But he declined to commit to an international orbital docking technology that would facilitate international participation in the Chinese facility.

The Chinese orbital station, consisting of a core module and two experiment-carrying modules, can be expanded to a total of six modules if international partners want to invest in their own components, said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of the China Manned Space Program at the China Manned Space Agency.

Addressing the 66th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) here, Zhou said the station will have a nominal crew of three, with a maximum capacity of six, with three-member crews being launched aboard Chinese Long March 2F rockets from the Jiuquan spaceport for missions of up to six months.

China has signed initial space station cooperation agreements with the Russian and European space agencies, and while the European Space Agency has begun training astronauts in Chinese, there is no specific plan yet to send astronauts to the Chinese facility.

The core module of the Chinese station is scheduled for launch in 2018, Zhou said. Crew-carrying Chinese capsules will visit the module before the two experiment modules are added to complete the initial station design.

“All the modules and associated vehicles are under development.”

If the current schedule holds – he gave no indication of any financing or technical roadblocks – the station would be ready for full operations “around 2022,” he said.

One of the interesting features of the Chinese space station is that it will be served from two of China’s four spaceports.

The cargo modules will be launched aboard Chinese CZ-5B rockets from the Hainan spaceport in southern China, at 19 degrees north latitude. Pressurized and unpressurized cargo will be launched aboard Long March 7 rockets, also from Hainan.

But China’s Shenzhou crew-transport vehicle is launched from the Jiuquan launch facility at 41 degrees north latitude, in the Gobi Desert of Inner Mongolia.

The station will operate for 10 years or more, at an altitude of 340-450 kilometers with an orbital inclination of 42-43 degrees relative to the equator.

The international space station managed by the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada, operates in low Earth orbit of around 400 kilometers in altitude, with an orbital inclination of 51.6 degrees, an accommodation to Russia, whose Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan is at 46 degrees north latitude.

Zhou said China plans to launch an astronomy telescope into an orbit near enough to the space station to dock to it for upgrades and servicing. He declined to specify the telescope’s size.

Zhou also declined to say whether China’s station would use a technical standard being developed in Europe and the United States that would facilitate future interoperability of orbital stations through common docking technologies.

The annual IAC conferences are routinely filled with commitments to international collaboration from national space agencies. A common docking standard is one of the few concrete examples of progress in this respect. A Chinese refusal to adopt it – Zhen said his office would need to assure its quality – would send a signal about China’s intentions with international partners.

http://spacenews.com/chinas-space-station-planners-put-out-welcome-mat/

Launch in 2018, all 3 modules operational from 2022

12 Oct 2015

3 modules; inclination 42-43; altitude 340-450 km; lifetime >10 years; crew members 3, Maximum 6

https://twitter.com/timmermansr/status/653583461626851328

12 Oct 2015

Head of China's space station program: Foreign nations welcome to add modules, visit w/ crewed vehicles, or submit experiment hardware

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/653594130698907648

12 Oct 2015

Chinese space station to have 2 experiment modules with ~13 racks of science & engineering lab equipment

https://twitter.com/SpaceJosh/status/653585370488008706

China's Space Telescope

12 Oct 2015

China's first upgradable and repairable large-aperture space telescope for astronomy

https://twitter.com/timmermansr/status/653585302053851137

13 Oct 2015

Woerner: In Germany we tore down the Berlin Wall. I want to tear down walls globally. Thus I favor 1 space station, including China

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/653873584897662976

12 Oct 2015

Russia Roscosmos Komarov: We can work with China on satnav systems, to improve service to customers. Let's open ISS partnership

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/653539114982223872

13 Oct 2015

ESA's Woerner: I told China: We don't need 2 space stations. How about ISS w/ China participation? Not sure how they'll react.

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/653872945106960384

13 Oct 2015

Will ESA's Woerner persuade China to drop its space station in favor of joining ISS & persuade US to accept this? This is his goal

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/653933415360802816

Rocket Based Combined Cycle in China

13 Oct 2015

https://twitter.com/iafastro/status/653906237915045888

Mars exploration

12 Oct 2015

China space chief Xu: Lunar & Mars exploration progressing side by side w/ us. We're open to partners, especially in far-side lunar mission.

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/653531440227946497

13 Oct 2015

Recently, CASIC 5th Academy 508 Research Institute successfully completed its first Mars lander parachute tower test. The first round of 15 tests was conducted on five kind of parachute resistance, performance and stability. The effective aerodynamic data where obtained for the parachutes' system opening, deceleration and subsystem. Thus laying a good foundation for the future large-scale trials.

https://twitter.com/cnspaceflight/status/653917105192996864

Chang'E-5 lunar return sample update

Chang'e 5 sample return landing site will be in northeastern Oceanus Procellarum

14 December 2015

The Chinese Chang’e 5 (CE-5) lunar sample return mission is scheduled to launch in 2017 to bring back surface regolith and drill samples from the northeastern Oceanus Procellarum region on the Moon. The Lunar Mineralogical Spectrometer (LMS) on the CE-5 lander is a VIS/IR imaging spectrometer (0.48 μm -3.2 μm) designed to analyze the mineralogical composition of the sample return site. LMS employs acousto-optic tunable filters (AOTFs) and is composed of a VIS/NIR module (0.48 μm -1.450 μm) and an IR module (1.4 μm -3.2 μm). It has spectral resolution in the range of 5-25 nm, with a field of view (FOV) of 3°×3°. An aluminum plate and an Infragold plate are used as calibration targets in the VIS/NIR and IR spectral range, respectively. Before launch, a ground verification test of LMS needs to be conducted in order to: 1) test and verify the performance of LMS through evaluation of the quality of image and spectral data collected with simulated lunar samples in the lab; and 2) calculate calibration parameters for calibration on the Moon through simulation of instrument calibration on the ground. The ground verification test will be conducted both indoors (for NIR to medium wavelength IR) and outdoors (for VIS to short wavelength IR). The indoor test will be conducted under condition of <60% relative moisture content, to reduce the effect of water vapor absorption near 2.7 μm. The spectra of simulated lunar regolith/mineral samples in the 2.5 μm -3.2 μm range will be collected simultaneously by the LMS and a calibrated FT-IR spectrometer (Model 102F). The outdoor test will be conducted with solar incidence angle >75° and relative moisture content <60%. The spectra of simulated lunar regolith samples in the 0.48 μm -2.5 μm range will be collected simultaneously by the LMS and a calibrated VIS/IR spectrometer (ASD FieldSpec 4 Hi-Res). In this paper we report the results of the LMS ground verification test regarding the evaluation of LMS spectral and image data quality, mineral identification and inversion ability, and calibration accuracy and geometric positioning accuracy.

https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm15/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/68812

 

[ISProgram]

More detail(?) on that assembly schedule.

 

[Soheil_Esy]

Space plants exhibition

17 Oct 2015

China's first space Pumpkin Contest was held today on Hanyuan County, Sichuan, with more than 200 kinds of pumpkins. Among them space pumpkins made their debuts.

Space pumpkin changes agriculture concepts, with their fruits, high yield, disease resistance, drought resistance, and other characteristics.

https://twitter.com/PDChina/status/655534929372184576/photo/1

http://sc.people.com.cn/n/2015/1017/c345167-26826639.html

Beijing Shenzhou Green Valley Agricultural Science and Technology Co., Ltd.

Each aerospace vegetable cultivation demonstration base covers a minimum of 10 acres. There are also alternatively outdoor planting facilities and other forms of outdoor + facility. There are aerospace peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, beans, melons and about 20 aerospace other high-yielding breeding new varieties available.

http://www.tknc.cn/index

Russia plans supplies of rocket engines to China

October 12, 2015; 9:00

"As for the space sphere, we have first of all two projects"

"Those will be agreements on supplies of Russian rocket engines and on reverse supplies of microelectronics from China, which we need, including for the space apparatuses."

http://tass.ru/en/economy/827972

 

[boogabooga]

Still safety issues in the Chinese space program:

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/soci...astern-china-wake-find-chunk-satellite-lodged

I mean, at the very least they could warn the people in the payload fairing drop zone that they need to watch for falling debris. And also that the rocket debris is not a toy for their kids to climb in.

 

[Soheil_Esy]

First look at the new CZ-6A

16 Oct 2015

CZ-6A (长征六号甲) or Naga-L

First and second stages of 3.35 m diameters
Four solid-fueled boosters as strap-ons of 2 meters diameters

2015/10/14

Haoliang Yang, Beijing Institute of Astronautical Systems Engineering details Naga-L, new Chinese CALT SmallSat launch vehicle.

First flight in 2 years (end of 2017), price $10M USD per flight.

Launch options from China (@ 41deg), Indonesia & Tanzania for equatorial, Sweden for SSO.

SmallSat launcher will deliver 1550kg to 400km LEO @ 41deg, 820kg to 500km SSO, 620kg to 700km SSO.

SmallSat launcher will be 2 stage LOX/RP + LOX/LH2, 100t GLOW, 30m length.

http://www.chinaspaceflight.com/rocket/349.html

A hint at its possible future use:

Google translate

Naga means dragon in bahasa indonesia:rofl:

https://translate.google.com/#auto/en/naga

https://twitter.com/cnspaceflight/status/654914814125281281

Dragon-L small liquid launcher

2015/10/20

Total length of 29.219m, lift-off mass 98.227 tones, fairing length 5.279 m with diameter of 3m.

First stage 3.35 m diameter, powered by one YF-100 liquid oxygen/kerosene engine,
Second stage 3 meters in diameter, powered by one YF-75 hydrogen/ oxygen engine.

$ 10 million costs per launch, first flight expected before the end of 2017

Stage First Second Propellant mass 77t 10.498t
Structural mass 6.94t 2.685t
Payload fairing mass 500kg
Payload mass 820kg
Lift-off mass 98.227t
Engine YF-100 YF-75
Ground level thrust 1200kN 83.265kN
Ground specific impulse 2942.0m/s 4295.2m/s
Diameter 3.35m 3m

Possible four space launch centers

① Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center for SSO

②Indonesia for LEO

Flight profile

Payload fairing falling area

③Sweden Kiruna for SSO

④Tanzania for LEO

Orbit altitude 400km 600km 800km 900km
Paylod mass 1545kg 1095kg 595kg 195kg

http://www.chinaspaceflight.com/rocket/NAGA-1.html

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Russia plans supplies of rocket engines to China

Huh. I wonder what engines they're eyeing for sale to China.

Also, do the Chinese have any ox-rich preburning engine designs yet? If not... perhaps they'll be buying a handful of NK-33s or RD-180s to learn from before switching to an indigenous design... That's how I'd do it, if I were them, anyways.

 

[ISProgram]

I've been hearing that it's indeed the RD-180.

 

[Soheil_Esy]

Huh. I wonder what engines they're eyeing for sale to China.

Also, do the Chinese have any ox-rich preburning engine designs yet? If not... perhaps they'll be buying a handful of NK-33s or RD-180s to learn from before switching to an indigenous design... That's how I'd do it, if I were them, anyways.

• Imported from Russia:
  RD-180

• Currently in use:
  
  YF-100: oxidizer-rich staged combustion cycle

• In development:
  
  YF-460
  
  
  
  
  http://www.chinaspaceflight.com/engine/kerosene/266.html

---------- Post added 10-25-15 at 02:49 ---------- Previous post was 10-24-15 at 04:50 ----------

Wenchang SLC update

2015/10/24

http://www.chinaspaceflight.com/launch-center/WSLC/WSLC-2015.html

CZ-5 oxygen tank successful completion of low temperature static test

2015/10/23

http://www.chinaspaceflight.com/rocket/CZ-5/245.html

 

[Soheil_Esy]

China aims to go deeper into space

2015-10-13

As China’s exploration of the moon progresses, its space experts have begun considering going deeper into the solar system – to Mars, asteroids and Jupiter – and a manned deep-space mission.

At a recent conference on deep-space exploration in Harbin, capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Liu Jizhong, director of the lunar exploration program and space engineering center, under the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, urged Chinese scientists and technologists to have a pioneering spirit.

He pointed out that China still needs to tackle key problems, such as how to go into deep space at higher speeds; generating energy and power; and developing space robots that can work in the complicated space environment.

Far side of the moon

Lin Yilu, a senior engineer of the Shanghai Aerospace Systems Engineering Institute, said developing a lunar relay satellite is necessary for future lunar exploration, sending astronauts to the moon, as well as setting up a lunar base.

“If China expands the range of its lunar exploration, such as exploring the south and north poles and the far side of the moon, it needs a constellation of satellites covering different areas of the moon’s surface,” said Lin.

Manned or unmanned?

China has yet to start a manned deep-space exploration program, and experts hotly debate whether it’s necessary to send humans into deep space, or just let robots do the job.

“Can robots replace humans to explore deep space? My view is that robots are suitable for repetitive, heavy loading, and fixed and known work.

However, such ambitions come with a cost, and the biggest would be for the greatly increased scale of the spacecraft and rockets. It would need a heavy-lift launch vehicle with a capacity of more than 100 tonnes to send four astronauts to the moon, and environmental control and life support systems would be essential too, Guo said.

Asteroid “ants”

In recent years, asteroids have become a focus of international space exploration. Scientists say asteroids hold materials that could unlock the secrets of the birth of the solar system and the origin of life.

Chinese experts are discussing the feasibility to send a landing probe and retrieve samples from an asteroid.

But how could a probe land and move on an asteroid that might have an odd shape, almost zero gravity and complicated environment?

Zhang Wangjun, a senior CAST engineer, said wheeled robots like the U.S. Mars rover Curiosity have played an important role in space exploration. But robots with feet are more suitable for moving on hilly terrain with many obstacles.

“Robots with feet can avoid and cross obstacles more easily. We are researching two-feet, four-feet and six-feet robots. It seems that a six-feet robot has more advantages in mobility and flexibility in the complicated environment,” Zhang said.

However, he said, current research only meets the industrial requirements. It is still a long way to go to adapting a robot to the environment of an asteroid.

Zhang has devised asteroid-probing robots like a pair of “ants” that can work independently or cooperatively.

http://www.icrosschina.com/insideout/2015/1013/19718.shtml

 

[Soheil_Esy]

Kuaizhou-11 and Kuaizhou21

2015-10-31 10:59

After two successful launches in 2013 and 2014, with its first rapid response military launcher Kuaizhou-1, the CASIC group is currently developing a larger and more powerful family of rapid reaction launchers, while preserving the Kuaizhou-1 features like payload integrated with fourth stage, fully-storable, solid fuel, launched from a mobile TEL ... etc.

Kuaizhou-11, with a capacity of 1t @ 700 km SSO, will be launched before the end of 2016. Kuaizhou-21 is currently in development.

The group wants to control the launch costs to less than 10 000 USD per kg in orbit, or 10 million USD for 1t.

http://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1391118

2015/11/02

KZ-11 first flight by end of 2016 or beginning of 2017


KZ-11 快舟十一号：1000kg@700km SSO

CZ-11：350kg@700km SSO

KZ-1：430kg@500km SSO

Feitian-1 飞天一号：250kg@500km SSO

http://www.chinaspaceflight.com/rocket/KZ-11/KZ-11.html

---------- Post added 11-02-15 at 18:45 ---------- Previous post was 11-01-15 at 19:32 ----------

China's first Mars orbiter and lander publicly unveiled

2 November 2015

China's Mars probe made its first public appearance at the 17th China International Industry Fair in Shanghai.

The Mars probe 1: 3 model, is made of a hexahedral orbiter with a white high-gain antenna for long-distance communications between Earth and Mars. The Mars lander is attached on top. The launch it scheduled for 2020.

The Mars exploration rover principal sample machine debuted at Shanghai Industry Fair in November 2014

The Mars rover model displayed at the Zhuhai Air Show in November 2014

http://news.xinhuanet.com/photo/2015-11/02/c_128385979.htm