China Launches Satellite with Saudi Payload
The Chang’e-4 mission aims to provide a means of communications for setting down and operating a lunar lander and rover on the far side of the moon. The satellite includes a small lunar optical imaging detector developed by Saudi Arabia
Dr. Shaul Shay | 22/05/2018
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The satellite launch on May 21, 2018 (Photo: AP)
China on Monday announced the successful launch of a lunar communications relay satellite designed to support a mission to put a lander and rover on the far side of the moon by late 2018. The Chang’e-4 mission was originally supposed to be launched in 2015 but was delayed due to changes in the mission’s design.
The satellite includes a small lunar optical imaging detector developed by Saudi Arabia, as part of an agreement between King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology and the China National Space Administration. The Saudi research team manufactured a compact payload with a high capacity of less than 10.5 cu.cm and a weight of no more than 630 grams. The payload consists of photographic and data processing units, among others, that is not only light in weight but also able to endure the space environment. The equipment is capable of taking photos from different angles and altitudes that vary according to the lunar orbit changes. The payload was readied in a record time of no more than 12 months.
The Chang’e-4 mission aims to provide a means of communications for setting down and operating a lunar lander and rover on the far side of the moon, a feat that has never been attempted.
Two microsatellites, Longjiang-1 and -2 (River Dragon-1 and -2), were also aboard the launch and will enter highly elliptical lunar orbits to perform their astronomy tasks. The pair will also carry out amateur radio experiments; with one will also carrying the small optical camera developed by Saudi Arabia.
The joint venture intends to study and explore the moon, particularly the invisible side of it to provide scientific data for researchers and specialist in space research and science.
The Strategic Relations between Saudi Arabia and China
King Salman’s extensive tour of Asia in 2017, accompanied by over 1,000 Saudi business executives, advisors, and courtiers, has resulted in an estimated $65 billion worth of economic agreements between Saudi Arabia and China alone.
As part of his tour of Asian countries, King Salman of Saudi Arabia has presided over a major space agreement between Saudi Arabia and China. This prominent agreement was a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology (KACST) and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) for Saudi Arabia to contribute to and participate in the Chinese-led Chang’e-4 Moon mission.
The tour was part of a larger Saudi effort to broaden the Kingdom’s economic and strategic partnerships as it attempts to diversify its largely oil-dependent economy. The Saudi Arabian Vision 2030 is the roadmap for this effort, and creating a high-technology research and industrial sector – such as space and satellite programs – is an important priority for Riyadh.
Summary
The joint exploration is in line with a memorandum of understanding concluded between China and Saudi Arabia during King Salman's visit to Beijing in mid-March 2017. As agreed upon by the KACST and the Chinese Space Agency, the Saudi side has built a payload for a space sensory system for use in filming and take photos of the moon.
The China-Saudi Lunar Exploration Cooperation Memorandum signed in 2017 aims to further strengthen the China-Saudi cooperation in the field of space. Saudi Arabia's taking part in the joint project would boost its efforts to develop its satellite technologies and use it in several fields of reconnaissance and distance censoring as well as space telecommunications.
Saudi Arabia is also keen to participate in the Chinese infrastructure initiative for Eurasia and the Indian Ocean, the so-called One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative.
http://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/node/34292
The Chang’e-4 mission aims to provide a means of communications for setting down and operating a lunar lander and rover on the far side of the moon. The satellite includes a small lunar optical imaging detector developed by Saudi Arabia
Dr. Shaul Shay | 22/05/2018
Send to a friend
A+A-Size
Share on
Share on
The satellite launch on May 21, 2018 (Photo: AP)
China on Monday announced the successful launch of a lunar communications relay satellite designed to support a mission to put a lander and rover on the far side of the moon by late 2018. The Chang’e-4 mission was originally supposed to be launched in 2015 but was delayed due to changes in the mission’s design.
The satellite includes a small lunar optical imaging detector developed by Saudi Arabia, as part of an agreement between King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology and the China National Space Administration. The Saudi research team manufactured a compact payload with a high capacity of less than 10.5 cu.cm and a weight of no more than 630 grams. The payload consists of photographic and data processing units, among others, that is not only light in weight but also able to endure the space environment. The equipment is capable of taking photos from different angles and altitudes that vary according to the lunar orbit changes. The payload was readied in a record time of no more than 12 months.
The Chang’e-4 mission aims to provide a means of communications for setting down and operating a lunar lander and rover on the far side of the moon, a feat that has never been attempted.
Two microsatellites, Longjiang-1 and -2 (River Dragon-1 and -2), were also aboard the launch and will enter highly elliptical lunar orbits to perform their astronomy tasks. The pair will also carry out amateur radio experiments; with one will also carrying the small optical camera developed by Saudi Arabia.
The joint venture intends to study and explore the moon, particularly the invisible side of it to provide scientific data for researchers and specialist in space research and science.
The Strategic Relations between Saudi Arabia and China
King Salman’s extensive tour of Asia in 2017, accompanied by over 1,000 Saudi business executives, advisors, and courtiers, has resulted in an estimated $65 billion worth of economic agreements between Saudi Arabia and China alone.
As part of his tour of Asian countries, King Salman of Saudi Arabia has presided over a major space agreement between Saudi Arabia and China. This prominent agreement was a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology (KACST) and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) for Saudi Arabia to contribute to and participate in the Chinese-led Chang’e-4 Moon mission.
The tour was part of a larger Saudi effort to broaden the Kingdom’s economic and strategic partnerships as it attempts to diversify its largely oil-dependent economy. The Saudi Arabian Vision 2030 is the roadmap for this effort, and creating a high-technology research and industrial sector – such as space and satellite programs – is an important priority for Riyadh.
Summary
The joint exploration is in line with a memorandum of understanding concluded between China and Saudi Arabia during King Salman's visit to Beijing in mid-March 2017. As agreed upon by the KACST and the Chinese Space Agency, the Saudi side has built a payload for a space sensory system for use in filming and take photos of the moon.
The China-Saudi Lunar Exploration Cooperation Memorandum signed in 2017 aims to further strengthen the China-Saudi cooperation in the field of space. Saudi Arabia's taking part in the joint project would boost its efforts to develop its satellite technologies and use it in several fields of reconnaissance and distance censoring as well as space telecommunications.
Saudi Arabia is also keen to participate in the Chinese infrastructure initiative for Eurasia and the Indian Ocean, the so-called One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative.
http://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/node/34292
