China Outer Space Science, Technology and Explorations: News & Updates

[JSCh]

China plans remote sensing satellites over South China Sea
Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-15 15:45:30|Editor: Mengjie



SANYA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's southern island province of Hainan has unveiled a satellite launch plan to assist remote sensing coverage over the South China Sea.

The Sanyan Institute of Remote Sensing said the mission would start in 2019, when it would launch three optical satellites.

After that, it will add another three optical satellites, two hyperspectral satellites and two SAR satellites to complete the Satellite Constellation Program by 2021, for conducting round-the-clock remote-sensing over the tropical sea area.

Yang Tianliang, director of the institute, said that the network was calculated to broadly cover the area between 30 degrees north and south of the equator.

Yang said the program would provide scientific support for China's initiative of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and emergency response efforts at sea.

 

[Adam WANG SHANGHAI MEGA]

I thought we have Bedou global navigation system!

 

[JSCh]

I thought we have Bedou global navigation system!

Beidou is for navigation only. It is not capable of remote sensing.
This Hainan province's project is multiple of optical and radar satellite that watch SCS and anywhere plus minus 30 degree latitude that coincide with area of the maritime silk road.

 

[cirr]

Chinese space station to carry domestic hydrogen atomic clock

2017-12-15 23:41 Xinhua Editor: Wang Fan

China's space station, to be launched in 2022, will be equipped with a domestically developed active hydrogen atomic clock, said the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) Friday.

The active hydrogen atomic clock will be a key equipment of China's space time frequency lab aboard the space station, according to a press release from the clock developer, a CASIC institute in Beijing.

"The lab aims to provide more accurate and stable time frequency signals with the help of the active hydrogen atomic clock, which can improve China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System," the release said.

The active hydrogen atomic clock, which weighs about 40 kg, is only one-fifth of the size of a traditional hydrogen atomic clock.

"Researchers will improve the reliability of the atomic clock so that it will better fulfill its duty in space," said Zhou Tiezhong, chief of the research team.

http://www.ecns.cn/2017/12-15/284691.shtml

 

[JSCh]

China launches communication satellite for Algeria
Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-11 02:02:23|Editor: Mu Xuequan

China launched Algeria's first communication satellite, Alcomsat-1, into a preset orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan early Monday, on Dec. 11, 2017. (Xinhua/Ju Zhenhua)

XICHANG, Sichuan, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- China launched Algeria's first communication satellite, Alcomsat-1, into a preset orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan early Monday.

The satellite was the first cooperative project in aerospace industry between the two countries. It will be used by Algeria for broadcast and television, emergency communication, distance education, e-governance, enterprise communication, broadband access and satellite-based navigation.

The satellite was launched 40 minutes after midnight by a Chinese Long March-3B carrier rocket, making it the 258th flight mission for the Long March rocket family.

​

Link to exclusive video from Chinese military network of the rocket and the launch ->

独家视频：阿尔及利亚一号通信卫星发射全...-来自中国军视网-微博视频​

https://twitter.com/x/status/943008630902837248

CGWIC‏ @CGWIC
At 20:45 Beijing time on Dec 18, 2017, the Alcomsat-1 Communications satellite was successfully positioned at 24.8 degrees west longitude.

 

[Adam WANG SHANGHAI MEGA]

It is our destiny and responsability to help the 3rd world freind who have been abandonded and sanctionned by USA to enjoy the spacial use rights!

 

[JSCh]

Tuesday, December 19, 2017, 14:55
China's first commercial rocket launch firm raises US$182m
Tuesday, December 19, 2017, 14:55 By Xinhua

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (center) inspects China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) in Beijing, capital of China, April 27, 2017. China's first commercial rocket launch company has raised 1.2 billion yuan (US$181.5 million) for the development and launch of its Kuaizhou series carrier rockets. (XIE HUANCHI / XINHUA)

SHANGHAI -- China's first commercial rocket launch company has raised 1.2 billion yuan (US$181.5 million) for the development and launch of its Kuaizhou series carrier rockets.

CASIC Rocket Technology Company, based in the central city of Wuhan, said on Monday it signed fundraising agreements with eight investment institutions at the Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange.

Zhang Di, vice president of China Sanjiang Space Group and chairman of CASIC Rocket Technology, said the original shareholders did not participate in the capital raising.

The rocket Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) on its first commercial mission, carrying the satellite JL-1 and two CubeSats XY-S1 and Caton-1, blasted off from northwestern China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at around 12:11 pm on Jan 9, 2017. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

"The fund will be mainly invested in the development of Kuaizhou series carrier rockets, the rocket assembly facility and other upstream and downstream commercial space businesses," Zhang said.

CASIC Rocket Technology was jointly established in February 2016 by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Limited (CASIC) and China Sanjiang Space Group.

Kuaizhou-11, the company's latest carrier rocket, has entered the testing and debugging phase and is scheduled to embark on its maiden flight carrying six satellites in the first half of 2018.

​

 

[cirr]

Tuesday, December 19, 2017, 14:55
China's first commercial rocket launch firm raises US$182m
Tuesday, December 19, 2017, 14:55 By Xinhua

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (center) inspects China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) in Beijing, capital of China, April 27, 2017. China's first commercial rocket launch company has raised 1.2 billion yuan (US$181.5 million) for the development and launch of its Kuaizhou series carrier rockets. (XIE HUANCHI / XINHUA)

SHANGHAI -- China's first commercial rocket launch company has raised 1.2 billion yuan (US$181.5 million) for the development and launch of its Kuaizhou series carrier rockets.

CASIC Rocket Technology Company, based in the central city of Wuhan, said on Monday it signed fundraising agreements with eight investment institutions at the Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange.

Zhang Di, vice president of China Sanjiang Space Group and chairman of CASIC Rocket Technology, said the original shareholders did not participate in the capital raising.

The rocket Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) on its first commercial mission, carrying the satellite JL-1 and two CubeSats XY-S1 and Caton-1, blasted off from northwestern China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at around 12:11 pm on Jan 9, 2017. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

"The fund will be mainly invested in the development of Kuaizhou series carrier rockets, the rocket assembly facility and other upstream and downstream commercial space businesses," Zhang said.

CASIC Rocket Technology was jointly established in February 2016 by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Limited (CASIC) and China Sanjiang Space Group.

Kuaizhou-11, the company's latest carrier rocket, has entered the testing and debugging phase and is scheduled to embark on its maiden flight carrying six satellites in the first half of 2018.

​

Design work starts on two big carrier rockets

2017-12-20 10:32

China Daily Editor: Gu Mengxi

Design work has begun on two new-generation solid-fuel carrier rockets at China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, according to a project insider.

Zhang Di, a senior space engineer and chairman of Expace Technology, a subsidiary of CASIC that provides commercial launch services, said on Monday that the Kuaizhou 21 will mainly be tasked with serving State space programs, such as the space station, while Kuaizhou 16 is targeted at commercial satellite makers.

With a diameter of 4.5 meters, Kuaizhou 21 will be the largest and tallest in the Kuaizhou rocket family. The rocket's launching capacity is similar to that of the United States' Falcon 9 Full Thrust, and it will be capable of sending a 20-metric-ton spacecraft to a low-Earth orbit. It also will be powerful enough to transport supplies to the country's future space station or to ferry robotic probes to planets far from Earth, Zhang said.

"Our country's future space station will require a great deal of supply missions from cargo spacecraft, and this will create many opportunities for Kuaizhou 21," he said.

The nation will start building its first space station in 2019, and plans are to put it into operation around 2022. The Chinese space station will consist of three parts－a core module and two attached space labs, each weighing about 20 tons－and will operate for at least 10 years, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

The Kuaizhou 16, a smaller model, will have a diameter of 3.5 meters and can place large satellites－those weighing up to 5 tons－into a low-Earth orbit, Zhang said. Rockets in this category are the most used on the launch market so the Kuaizhou 16 will have bright prospects, he said.

CASIC began to develop Kuaizhou-series solid-fuel rockets in 2009 as a low cost, quick-response rocket family for the commercial launch market. It has launched three of the rockets－two Kuaizhou 1s and one Kuaizhou 1A.

The State-owned space giant is building the Wuhan National Space Industry Base in the Hubei provincial capital's Xinzhou district. It will cover 68.8 square kilometers.

The company will invest 1.7 billion yuan ($257 million) in the base to build plants to make Kuaizhou rockets. It plans to produce about 20 rockets there annually to take advantage of opportunities from China's burgeoning commercial space industry, according to the company.

http://www.ecns.cn/2017/12-20/285165.shtml

 

[JSCh]

China-Brazil satellite scheduled for launch in 2019
Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-20 21:57:59|Editor: pengying



BEIJING, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- An earth observation satellite jointly developed by China and Brazil is scheduled to be launched into space in 2019, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

The China-Brazil Earth Resource Satellite-4A (CBERS-4A) will be launched by a Long March-4B carrier rocket.

It will be the sixth satellite to be launched in the earth resource satellite cooperation program between the two sides, following the satellites CBERS-1, 2, 2B, 3, and 4.

Since the 1980s, both countries have used earth resource satellites in various fields including agriculture, forestry, water resources, environmental monitoring and disaster reduction.

The first China-Brazil earth resource satellite was launched from China in 1999.

 

[JSCh]

China solicits messages to be sent to moon
Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-20 17:56:46|Editor: Lu Hui



BEIJING, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- China will solicit 20,000 messages which will be sent into space by a relay satellite for the Chang'e-4 lunar probe, according to China's Lunar and Deep Space Exploration Center.

The relay satellite will be launched in the first half of 2018 and Chang'e-4 lunar probe in the latter half of next year, according to the center affiliated with the China National Space Administration.

People all over the world can follow the WeChat account "slecbj" to submit their wishes from Dec. 19, 2017, to March 6, 2018.

The Chang'e-4 lunar probe will undertake the first ever soft landing on the far side of the moon and conduct in situ and roving detection and relay communication at the Earth-Moon Lagrangian 2 (L2) point, according to the center.

People on Earth cannot directly communicate with the far side of the moon, which is one of the difficulties for the Chang'e-4 lunar probe mission.

A relay satellite at the Earth-Moon L2 point, where gravity allows it to maintain a stable position between Earth and the moon, can redirect communication from Earth to the far side of the moon, solving the difficulty at a low cost.

 

[cirr]

China launches land exploration satellite

2017-12-23 13:23

Xinhua Editor: Huang Mingrui

China launched a land exploration satellite into a preset orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert at 12:14 p.m. Saturday Beijing Time.

The satellite is mainly used for remote sensing exploration of land resources.

A Long March-2D rocket carried the satellite into space.

The launch was the 259th mission of the Long March rocket series.

http://www.ecns.cn/2017/12-23/285605.shtml

 

[Bussard Ramjet]

China launches land exploration satellite

2017-12-23 13:23

Xinhua Editor: Huang Mingrui

China launched a land exploration satellite into a preset orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert at 12:14 p.m. Saturday Beijing Time.

The satellite is mainly used for remote sensing exploration of land resources.

A Long March-2D rocket carried the satellite into space.

The launch was the 259th mission of the Long March rocket series.

http://www.ecns.cn/2017/12-23/285605.shtml

What was the payload?

Also, where is the old China Space thread? It used to be very active. In general as well I think PDF has given very dormant in the last couple of months.

 

[cirr]

Chinese start-up tests rocket engine

2017-12-24 10:36 Xinhua Editor: Liang Meichen

A Chinese start up successfully tested an engine for its light rocket, which is set to be launched by June 2018.

The test was conducted in a test ground in east China's Jiangxi Province on Friday, said Shu Chang, chief executive officer of Beijing-based One Space, on Saturday.

The engine uses solid propellants and will power the company's X-series light rockets, Shu said, adding that engineers have finished designing the rocket's main body and electrical system.

The engine can not only drive light carrier rockets but also sub-orbital spacecraft, he said.

Founded in 2015, One Space focuses on developing light rockets that can carry small satellites at affordable prices.

http://www.ecns.cn/business/2017/12-24/285646.shtml

 

[JSCh]

Tuesday, December 19, 2017, 14:55
China's first commercial rocket launch firm raises US$182m
Tuesday, December 19, 2017, 14:55 By Xinhua

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (center) inspects China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) in Beijing, capital of China, April 27, 2017. China's first commercial rocket launch company has raised 1.2 billion yuan (US$181.5 million) for the development and launch of its Kuaizhou series carrier rockets. (XIE HUANCHI / XINHUA)

SHANGHAI -- China's first commercial rocket launch company has raised 1.2 billion yuan (US$181.5 million) for the development and launch of its Kuaizhou series carrier rockets.

CASIC Rocket Technology Company, based in the central city of Wuhan, said on Monday it signed fundraising agreements with eight investment institutions at the Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange.

Zhang Di, vice president of China Sanjiang Space Group and chairman of CASIC Rocket Technology, said the original shareholders did not participate in the capital raising.

The rocket Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) on its first commercial mission, carrying the satellite JL-1 and two CubeSats XY-S1 and Caton-1, blasted off from northwestern China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at around 12:11 pm on Jan 9, 2017. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

"The fund will be mainly invested in the development of Kuaizhou series carrier rockets, the rocket assembly facility and other upstream and downstream commercial space businesses," Zhang said.

CASIC Rocket Technology was jointly established in February 2016 by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Limited (CASIC) and China Sanjiang Space Group.

Kuaizhou-11, the company's latest carrier rocket, has entered the testing and debugging phase and is scheduled to embark on its maiden flight carrying six satellites in the first half of 2018.

​

 

[JSCh]

China to promote space remote sensing development in 2018
Source: Xinhua| 2017-12-26 21:32:20|Editor: Liangyu



BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- China will make more efforts in space remote sensing development in 2018 and prepare for the launch of Gaofen-7 high-resolution remote sensing satellite, said director of the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation (NASMG).

The goal of the Gaofen series is to provide all-weather, 24-hour services covering the entire globe.

China will also promote the research and development of Ziyuan III 03 and 04 satellites in the new year, said Kuresh Mahsut, the director, at a national work conference on Tuesday.

Citing a national plan on civil space infrastructure (2015-2025),scientists said that seven cartographic satellites including Gaofen-7 will be used in updating maps, resource investigation, urban and rural planning, environmental protection and early warning of disasters.

China will improve its ability to deal with emergencies through surveying and mapping in three years, according to the NASMG.

In 2018, the NASMG will conduct basic, specific and city geoinformation survey and issue an annual report.

China's first national geoinformation survey was released in April this year, saying that China has a total of 7.56 million square kilometers of vegetation cover, and buildings cover 153,000 square kilometers.

As of Nov. 9, 2017, 28 provincial level regions had released reports on local geoinformation.