Discussion The Ultimate Chinese Space Discussion Thread!

[Cosmic Penguin]

A late in reply but, geopolitical politics are a little more complex than that.

Yeah, but at least classroom fights and geopolitical politics have one thing in common: both fights for some kind of greed between people and countries.

Speaking of the Chinese, they managed to sneak yet another successful orbital launch in a week: China launches Tianhui-1B via Long March 2D

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Female astronaut.

Or female taikongnaut, or (if you can speak Mandarin) nu yu hang yuan....

Meanwhile, the rocket that will carry SZ-9 has arrived in JSLC yesterday, along with the LV processing team.

And in less than three hours, yet another Chinese rocket will launch a satellite to space (!). Details will follow soon...

 

[NovaSilisko]

How many of those rockets do they have?

 

[Alfastar]

How many of those rockets do they have?

I think more then we think there have.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Or female taikongnaut, or (if you can speak Mandarin) nu yu hang yuan....

Meanwhile, the rocket that will carry SZ-9 has arrived in JSLC yesterday, along with the LV processing team.

And in less than three hours, yet another Chinese rocket will launch a satellite to space (!). Details will follow soon...

And launch success! That makes the third successful Chines launch in just 10 days. The Yaogan 14 spysat and a nano-satellite built by the [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_University_of_Defense_Technology"]National University of Defense Technology[/ame] (famous for building one of the world's fastest supercomputers) are now in orbit.

NASASpaceflight.com: China increases the pace with Long March 4B spy satellite launch

 

[orb]

NASASpaceflight: Long March 3B launches military satellite Chinasat-2A:

A new military communications satellite – the Zhongxing-2A (Chinasat-2A) – was launched by a Chang Zheng-3B (Y17) (Long March 3B) launch vehicle on Saturday. Lift off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center LC2 launch complex took place at 15:56 UTC.

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[orb]

Parabolic Arc: China Space Capabilities Growing as Reliability Issues Surface

 

[Columbia42]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/china/shenzhou9/120610schedule/
"China is Days Away from Launching 3 Astronauts" -SpaceflightNow.
A Long March rocket has been rolled out (There are some great pictures!) and this flight will likely dock with the Tiangong module.

 

[orb]

NewScientist: First crew to head for China's heavenly space palace

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/china/shenzhou9/120610schedule/
"China is Days Away from Launching 3 Astronauts" -SpaceflightNow.
A Long March rocket has been rolled out (There are some great pictures!) and this flight will likely dock with the Tiangong module.

There's more in "[Launch News] Shenzhou 9, Long March 2F, June 16, 2012 (mission updates)" thread.

 

[orb]

Spaceflight Now: China says it has spent $6 billion on human spaceflight

 

[orb]

RIA Novosti: China Beats Russia on Space Launches:

For the first time in the history of space exploration, China beat Russia on the number of space launches in a given period of time, a rocket engine manufacturer said on Wednesday.

China conducted 10 of the world’s total 35 launches in the first six months of 2012, Russia’s NPO Energomash said on its website.

Russia was second with nine launches, followed by the United States with eight launches, the report said.

The list also included multinational companies Arianespace with three launches and Sea Launch with one launch, as well as India, Iran, Japan and North Korea, each of which attempted to send one satellite into orbit so far this year, the report said.

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[orb]

NASASpaceflight: Long March 3C launches China’s third tracking and data relay satellite:

A Long March 3C (Chang Zheng 3C) has returned China back into action for the first time since their Shenzhou-9 manned rendezvous and docking mission. The launch of the TL-1 Tianlian-1 (3) ‘Sky Link’ sent the country’s third tracking and data relay satellite into orbit. Launch occured at 15:45 UTC on Wednesday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

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Space News: Long March Lofts Chinese Data-relay Satellite

 

[orb]

Discovery News: China to Launch Nuclear Moon Rover in 2013: DNews Nuggets

China.org.cn: China to launch moon craft in 2013:

China will launch its third spacecraft to the moon next year as part of its lunar exploration mission, Beijing Morning Post reports.

The Chang'e 3, named after the Chinese goddess of the moon, includes a lander and rover that will jointly carry out exploration activities for the first time in world history, according to Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist of China's lunar exploration program.

Ouyang said Chang'e 3 would make a soft landing on the moon, as parachutes are not an option because of the lack of air on the moon.

The rover is China's most advanced robot with complete automatic navigation and operations.

The rover will carry a nuclear-powered battery that will last throughout the long and cold lunar nights. The battery can last up to 30 years.

Chang'e 3 will be launched at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan province.

{...}

Aviation Week: China Aims To Land Probe On Moon Next Year

 

[orb]

Xinhua: China's Long March-5 carrier rocket engine undergoes testing:

BEIJING/XI'AN, July 29 (Xinhua) -- China on Sunday successfully conducted tests on its new 120-tonne-thrust liquid oxygen (LOX) and kerosene engine for its new generation carrier rocket, the Long March-5, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

The test was conducted in Xi'an, capital city of northwest China's Shaanxi province, according to the CASC's sixth research institute.

The LOX/kerosene engine underwent a test of a high rotational speed of nearly 20,000 revolutions per minute and a high temperature test of 3,000 degrees Celsius that lasted for 200 seconds, the China Central Television reported.

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SPACE.com: China Tests Powerful Rocket Engine for New Booster

 

[mahdavi3d]

video:

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

About a week ago the three Shenzhou 9 astronauts were in town, participating in several talks and events around the city (luckily I missed all of them, because most of the questions asked were not about their mission!). There was also an exhibition in the local science museum, featuring the SZ-9 descent capsule, in-flight equipment and other not-seen-before photos (including those taken on-board TG-1!). You can see the photos taken by me here: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=27391.msg943025#msg943025

 

[orb]

SPACE.com: US Scientists to Use Chinese Moon Lander for Space Research

 

[orb]

NASASpaceflight: China back in action with dual Compass launch:

China has launched a new pair of navigation satellites today to upgrade its satellite navigation constellation. The launch of the Compass-M5 and Compass-M5 satellites took place at 19:10UTC on Tuesday from the LC2 launch complex of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, using the powerful Long March-3B/E (Chang Zheng-3B/E).

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[orb]

Space News: China Sets Out To Build Lightweight Electric Satellite:

PARIS — China has begun development of a lighter-weight telecommunications satellite platform using electric propulsion and lithium-ion batteries to offer launches on smaller Chinese rockets in addition to continuing work on a much heavier vehicle, China’s space-hardware exporter said.

Chinese officials are also broadening their export effort to include Earth observation satellites, having concluded that this market is growing more attractive with the demand by developing nations for their own space-based observation systems, the official said.

{...}

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Chinese launch tomorrow - LIVE!

Just a heads up: there will be a Chinese launch tomorrow at after 04:00 UTC - LIVE on the Internet! It will involve a country on the opposite side of China, a man who has fought in the French revolution and the Spanish colonies independence wars, and another man who deserves discussion down in the dungeon. Want to know why? Stay tuned for my pre-launch report at around midnight GMT!











(or if you can't wait, read here!)