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

[JSCh]

China's Chang'e-4 rover to land on far side of Moon in 2nd half of 2018
China Plus Published: 2018-03-13 18:37:49

China's latest lunar probe, the Chang'e-4, is expected to land on the far side of the Moon on the second half this year in what is to be the first soft landing on the dark side of the moon in the history of space flight, said Zhao Xiaojin, head of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

An illustration of Chang'e-4 working on the Moon. [Photo: stdaily.com]

The project is divided into two stages. In the first half of the year, a relay satellite will be sent to the Earth-Moon Lagrange 2 point, which is 450,000 kilometers from the earth. It will transmit data collected by the rover and lander back to earth, explained Zhao Xiaojin on the sidelines of this year's CPPCC sessions.

After the testing of the relay satellite, Chang'e-4 will start its journey in the second half of 2018 and land near Moon's South Pole's Aitken Basin.

Chang'e-4 is a copy of Chang'e-3, but has a different landing method and working conditions. Its predecessor Chang'e-3, China's first lunar lander, has been operating on the moon for over two years.

Meanwhile, Zhao Xiaojin has told the media on the sidelines of the annual session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference that the Chang'e-5 mission is now scheduled for sometime in 2019. That mission will involve a lunar landing and return to earth.

"We hope to start the construction of a lunar base around 2025 and send man onto the Moon around 2030," said Zhao.

 

[onebyone]

LKW-4 - CZ-2D - JSLC - March 2018
A0729/18 - A TEMPORARY RESTRICTED AREA ESTABLISHED BOUNDED
BY:N330725E0981352-N331206E0974845-N340456E0980241-N340012E0982802
BACK TO START. VERTICAL LIMITS:GND-UNL. GND - UNL, 17 MAR 07:03 2018 UNTIL 17
MAR 07:32 2018. CREATED: 14 MAR 01:35 2018

A0728/18 - A TEMPORARY RESTRICTED AREA ESTABLISHED BOUNDED
BY:N350912E0984502-N351245E0982545-N354147E0983340-N353701E0985931
BACK TO START. VERTICAL LIMITS:GND-UNL. GND - UNL, 17 MAR 07:03 2018 UNTIL 17
MAR 07:25 2018. CREATED: 14 MAR 01:33 2018

http://www.spaceflightfans.cn/event...unch-land-resource-exploration-satellite-four


CZ-2D for the LKW-4 mission as been sent to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.


https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=44683.0

 

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Latest astrophotographies from China's 2 orbital space laboratories: Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2

Spoiler: Links

https://defence.pk/pdf/attachments/...1/?temp_hash=e4d24499e00af15d7774fb0ec52e7788
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DYKeyPDVoAIlcka.jpg
https://twitter.com/makkisse999/status/973515308710313984
#天宮1号 (TIANGONG 1)の通過を撮影。予報1.3等級、北西から東へ。最高通過点高度29°(方位28°)。3/13, 19:06~18:08 頃、太陽高度-10°。明るい＆雲多い,と状況悪かったが、ちらっと見えました。。 露出10秒x6枚 比較明合成, 対角魚眼 トリミング

▲ TIANGONG 1 pass captured from Tanegashima on 13 March 2018, 19:06~18:08 JST, 10 seconds x 6, fisheye, APS-C10 mm, PENTAX K-5II s
Estimated Magnitude: 1.3

Spoiler: Links

https://defence.pk/pdf/attachments/...2/?temp_hash=e4d24499e00af15d7774fb0ec52e7788
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DYCk-4zU0AA1E2P.jpg
https://twitter.com/makkisse999/status/972959236274601984
#天宮2号 (TIANGONG-2)の通過を撮影。3月12日 5:20~5:21, 予報1.0等級。最高通過点高度67°。影出からMax高度を少し過ぎたあたりまで。アルクトゥルスと北斗七星の間を通過。1、2枚目が空いたのは連写用レリーズのロック忘れ。 追尾(ポータブル赤道儀) 露出20秒×4枚 比較明合成,

▲ TIANGONG 2 pass between Arcturus and Uras Major captured from Tanegashima on 12 March 2018, 5:20~5:21 JST, 20 seconds x 4, f/3.2, ISO 2500, APS-C21 mm, PENTAX K-5II s
Estimated Magnitude: 1.0

Target in range, all PLA Laser Stations ready to fire!

More smoking gun, or rather smoking lasers!



Descent of China’s Tiangong-1 will not cause damage to earth: expert

March 14, 2018

According to the latest information issued by China’s manned space engineering office, since Feb. 25 to Mar. 4, 2018, Tiangong-1 was orbiting in stable condition and good shape at an average height of about 251.5 kilometers (perigee height: 238.6 km; apogee height: 264.4 km; orbital inclination: 42.79 degrees).

China has been monitoring Tiangong-1, Zhu said, adding that the space lab will burn up after entering the atmosphere and the remaining wreckage will fall into a designated area of the sea, without endangering the Earth’s surface.

Aerospace expert Pang Zhihao explained that an international tradition to handle retired large spacecrafts operated at near-earth orbits is to let them fall to an abyssal zone in southern Pacific Ocean far away from the continents.

Being called the “graveyard of spacecraft”, the water was the falling location for Mir space station and Progress spacecraft of Russia, and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory of the US, Pang added.

http://en.people.cn/n3/2018/0314/c90000-9437070.html


Coincidence? I think not!

 

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Latest astrophotographies from China's 2 orbital space laboratories: Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2

Spoiler: Links

https://defence.pk/pdf/attachments/...1/?temp_hash=e4d24499e00af15d7774fb0ec52e7788
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DYKeyPDVoAIlcka.jpg
https://twitter.com/makkisse999/status/973515308710313984
#天宮1号 (TIANGONG 1)の通過を撮影。予報1.3等級、北西から東へ。最高通過点高度29°(方位28°)。3/13, 19:06~18:08 頃、太陽高度-10°。明るい＆雲多い,と状況悪かったが、ちらっと見えました。。 露出10秒x6枚 比較明合成, 対角魚眼 トリミング

▲ TIANGONG 1 pass captured from Tanegashima on 13 March 2018, 19:06~18:08 JST, 10 seconds x 6, fisheye, APS-C10 mm, PENTAX K-5II s
Estimated Magnitude: 1.3

Spoiler: Links

https://defence.pk/pdf/attachments/...2/?temp_hash=e4d24499e00af15d7774fb0ec52e7788
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DYCk-4zU0AA1E2P.jpg
https://twitter.com/makkisse999/status/972959236274601984
#天宮2号 (TIANGONG-2)の通過を撮影。3月12日 5:20~5:21, 予報1.0等級。最高通過点高度67°。影出からMax高度を少し過ぎたあたりまで。アルクトゥルスと北斗七星の間を通過。1、2枚目が空いたのは連写用レリーズのロック忘れ。 追尾(ポータブル赤道儀) 露出20秒×4枚 比較明合成,

▲ TIANGONG 2 pass between Arcturus and Uras Major captured from Tanegashima on 12 March 2018, 5:20~5:21 JST, 20 seconds x 4, f/3.2, ISO 2500, APS-C21 mm, PENTAX K-5II s
Estimated Magnitude: 1.0

Target in range, all PLA Laser Stations ready to fire!

More smoking gun, or rather smoking lasers!



Descent of China’s Tiangong-1 will not cause damage to earth: expert

March 14, 2018

According to the latest information issued by China’s manned space engineering office, since Feb. 25 to Mar. 4, 2018, Tiangong-1 was orbiting in stable condition and good shape at an average height of about 251.5 kilometers (perigee height: 238.6 km; apogee height: 264.4 km; orbital inclination: 42.79 degrees).

China has been monitoring Tiangong-1, Zhu said, adding that the space lab will burn up after entering the atmosphere and the remaining wreckage will fall into a designated area of the sea, without endangering the Earth’s surface.

Aerospace expert Pang Zhihao explained that an international tradition to handle retired large spacecrafts operated at near-earth orbits is to let them fall to an abyssal zone in southern Pacific Ocean far away from the continents.

Being called the “graveyard of spacecraft”, the water was the falling location for Mir space station and Progress spacecraft of Russia, and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory of the US, Pang added.

http://en.people.cn/n3/2018/0314/c90000-9437070.html


Coincidence? I think not!

 

[JSCh]

CASIC plans space-based Internet with 80 satellites

The rocket Kuaizhou-1A carrying the satellite JL-1 and two CubeSats XY-S1 and Caton-1 blasts off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province, Jan. 9, 2017. (File photo/China News Service)

(ECNS)-- The Fourth Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), the main contractor for the Chinese space program, officially unveiled a new subordinate entity on Friday to build space-based internet services using 80 small satellites.

Zhang Di, deputy director of the academy and also president of the new company Xingyun, said cellular mobile communication technology is unable to provide Internet across more than 80 percent of the land and 95 percent of the ocean.

He said the new space-based service and Internet of Things will turn a new chapter in communication and allow easy connection whether on sea, islands or in the desert.

Xingyun will be dedicated to the research, manufacturing and launch of low orbit satellites, building a network and finally a space-based Internet of Things, according to Zhang.

He added that cloud computing and Big Data services will be part of a planned information ecology system to allow internet access all across the world.

Xingyun already sent its first experimental satellite into low earth orbit aboard a Kuaizhou 1 rocket in Jan. 2017. The company plans to send a total of 80 satellites into space in three stages to complete the system, with countries along the One Belt One Road initiative as the main target market.

 

[cirr]

China launches land exploration satellite

Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-17 18:48:49 | Editor: Zhou Xin

A Long March-2D rocket carrying a land exploration satellite is launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, March 17, 2018. China launched a land exploration satellite into a preset orbit from here at 3:10 p.m. Saturday. The satellite is the fourth of its kind and mainly used for exploration of land resources by remote sensing. (Xinhua/Wang Jiangbo)

JIUQUAN, March 17 (Xinhua) -- China launched a land exploration satellite into a preset orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert of the country's northwest at 3:10 p.m. Saturday.

The satellite is the fourth of its kind and mainly used for exploration of land resources by remote sensing.

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

The launch was the 268th mission of the Long March rocket series.

 

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Vibration training for Taikonauts

Spoiler: Links

https://defence.pk/pdf/attachments/...7/?temp_hash=2b29341fc6428585abab58237ac650d6
http://
http://

▲ Vibration training for Taikonauts

Spoiler: Link

http://
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9Cv9l2lf9o

▲ What does it take to become a taikonaut? This exclusive footage shows Chinese astronauts going through a special training on vibration machine. Published on Mar 17, 2018

Obviously that should be the rehearsal of atmospheric reentry phase. Thus no footages have ever been disclosed -by any spacefaring nations- (anyway it is during the plasma ball blackout phase)...



Weightless training for Taikonauts

Spoiler: Links

https://defence.pk/pdf/attachments/...4/?temp_hash=2b29341fc6428585abab58237ac650d6
http://
http://

▲ Weightless training for Taikonauts

Spoiler: Link

http://
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08SvB20QNEM

▲ What does it take to become a taikonaut? Check out Chinese astronauts preparing underwater for the weightlessness of space. Published on Mar 15, 2018

 

[cirr]

China to develop micro rockets, aiming at huge market

2018-03-19 08:30 Xinhua Editor: Wang Fan

China plans to develop micro solid-propellant carrier rockets for commercial use to meet growing needs for launching micro-nano satellites.

China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) said that its subsidiary company, China Rocket, was in the process of appraising the plan.

"The micro rockets will be developed with strong ability, high precision, low cost and a short launch preparation cycle," according to a CALT online statement.

In general, small solid-propellant rockets have a carrying capacity of 100-500 kilograms. The micro-solid rockets are more flexible and cost-efficient, according to the CALT.

Since its establishment in 1957, the CALT has been China's largest developer and producer of carrier rockets. It has designed and manufactured the Long March carrier rockets, which have a good reputation globally.

"The development of micro-solid rockets is an important step for China Rocket to build a world-class commercial space company," the CALT said.

According to the CALT, the global demand for commercial satellite launches will exceed 10,000, and domestic demand will reach 1,000. Many Chinese tech giants also have satellite launch plans.

 

[Galactic Penguin SST]

The Moon Race As Seen From Europe

"Im Lauf der Zeit: Ein Ausflug zum Mond" is a typical TV program for children presenting the history and future of the Moon Race.

Over Time: A trip to the Moon

2016-12-18

Spoiler: Links

https://defence.pk/pdf/attachments/...8/?temp_hash=feebc30ac7a560d6d25153b1af5b295c
http://programm.ard.de/sendungsbilder/original/448/POCUTF8_19565782448_Original_Daccord.JPEG
http://www.arte.tv/guide/de/063614-012-A/im-lauf-der-zeit

▲ The Moon Race, illustrated by a strange flashforward... obvious message intended to prepare the European little children to the inevitable outcome.

http://www.arte.tv/guide/de/063614-012-A/im-lauf-der-zeit


The Mars Colonization As Seen From Europe


"Im Lauf der Zeit: Dschingis Khan, das Steppenreich" is a typical TV program for children presenting the history and future of the Mars Colonization.

Alternate History: The Empire of China conquers Mars

10-02-2017

In the desert, in a hostile world, man has managed to gain a foothold and to sustain life. After decades of cold war, of technological races to dominate the world, the Empire of China won its showdown with the European Union: after the Moon, Mars has just been colonized.

For years, this unmatched feat has mobilized all the resources of the country. Barely 20 years after the first step on the moon, the Empire of China, from the height of its 5,000-years history, today shows the world the grandeur of its civilization. His success is such that we are already talking about the Chinese century.

But all this has never happened! 900 years ago a small grain of sand will cause a series of events that will decimate more than a third of the Chinese population and slow down its development for centuries.

1174, Mongolia. A clan leader is poisoned by a rival tribe. He dies under the eyes of his young son named Temüdjin. A few decades later, riders ransack a nomad camp, they leave with a captive, a beautiful woman, her name is Börté.
1214: Beijing is taken and pillaged by the Mongols. In the years that follow, China will lose a third of its population.

These three tragic elements are intimately linked, they are key moments in the life of a unique conqueror in the history of mankind, Genghis Khan!

https://education.francetv.fr/matie...ronie-l-empire-de-chine-a-la-conquete-de-mars

Spoiler: Links

https://defence.pk/pdf/attachments/...9/?temp_hash=feebc30ac7a560d6d25153b1af5b295c
http://
https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/063614-002-A/im-lauf-der-zeit/

▲ The Mars colonization, illustrated by a strange flashforward... obvious message intended to prepare the European little children to the inevitable outcome.

https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/063614-002-A/im-lauf-der-zeit/

 

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Has There Been a Loss of Control?

Where will Tiangong-1 reenter?

How Difficult is it to Accurately Predict a Reentry?

Will objects from this reentry hit me or my property?

Since the hasbara boy keeps reposting the same litanies again and again all over the forum, let me reveal the following, confirming my previous assessment:
The Chinese PLA ASAT laser stations seem to have already proceeded with their first in a series to come corrective laser surgical pinpoint accuracy strikes, as shown in the sudden increased decay rate of Tiangong-1 witnessed by the official TLE of March 12!

Spoiler: Links

https://defence.pk/pdf/attachments/...3/?temp_hash=f85c111b65a844af7a497e8af3a0dc2c
http://
http://

▲ It is clearly visible an anomalous burst from the TLE 18070.1268 (March 11) to 18072.1107 (March 13), 6 consecutive TLEs.

Spoiler: Links

https://defence.pk/pdf/attachments/...4/?temp_hash=f85c111b65a844af7a497e8af3a0dc2c
http://
http://

▲ After the big variation in the decay rate on March 12, the totally controlled reentry is predicted at a slightly earlier date: 2-3 April 2018

Spoiler: Links

https://defence.pk/pdf/attachments/...0/?temp_hash=40b1296e07e8c954beaef6a4ab6e700d
http://
http://stdkmd.com/sat/?cr=12656&eq=....14861077888228622&tz=UTC&y=20180312114635000

▲ Groundtrack of a very good pass of Tiangong-1 over China's laser stations on 12 March 2018, especially a frontal approach over Tianshan ASAT station!



Coincidence? I think not!

 

[JSCh]

Daily update of Tiangong-1 orbit,

--> CHINA MANNED SPACE | News > Notice

 

[JSCh]

Giant radio telescope to reach even farther
By ZHANG ZHIHAO | China Daily | Updated: 2018-03-27 07:11

Aerial view of the world's largest radio telescope called FAST (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope) in Pingtang county, Qiannan Buyi and Miao autonomous region, southwest China's Guizhou province. [Photo/IC]

China will finish upgrading the world's largest single-dish radio telescope next month to help scientists discover more stellar objects that are unique and farther from Earth, according to a project insider.

The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope, known as FAST, has had more precise and efficient signal receivers installed, said Liu Oufei, deputy chief engineer of the telescope's receiver and terminal systems.

The upgrade includes a more advanced 19-beam receiver system to replace the current single-beam receiver, which was easier to calibrate and test when FAST was launched in 2016, he said.

"Previously, it was like having only one ear listening to the sky for cosmic signals," he said. "Now we have 19 ears, which can significantly increase our efficiency and ability to detect farther and fainter signals."

The new receiver will be at least six times more accurate than the old model, and can survey the night sky 19 times faster, drastically shortening the time needed for data collecting, he said. Before the update, it usually took around 20 days to survey the sky.

Chinese scientists are also looking at setting up smaller radio telescopes around FAST to create a telescope array that has greater resolution and data accuracy, Liu said.

The surrounding telescopes would consist of two to 10 radio telescopes measuring 30 or 50 meters in diameter, and resolution of the array would be about 100 times greater than now, according to proposals from the FAST observation station of the National Astronomical Observatories of China, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"We have the engineering know-how to achieve these goals, but it ultimately comes down to the scientists and their projects to determine whether new telescopes are necessary," Liu said. "Everything regarding the expansion is still in its early stages and is subject to change."

Located in a natural depression in Guizhou province, FAST consists of 4,450 triangular panels that form a receiving dish about the size of 30 soccer fields.

FAST's main missions include finding and studying pulsars, which are superdense, superbright rotating remnants of massive stars that eject beams of powerful electromagnetic radiation from their poles.

The beams are so bright that scientists can detect them millions of light years away, hence pulsars are called "the lighthouse of the galaxy," Liu said. Pulsars can also spin at an extremely stable rate due to their incredible mass and momentum, "like the universe's most precise clock".

Using these two traits, pulsars can be used to track time and coordinates for space navigation with unprecedented accuracy, Liu said, adding Chinese scientists are already working on real time positioning systems involving pulsars.

"Finding more pulsars is not only crucial in understanding the nature of the universe," he said. "They also have profound and practical uses in greatly improving our navigation capability, both for cars traveling on roads and spacecraft flying through space."

Since its launch, FAST has discovered 51 possible pulsars, 11 of which have been confirmed by international organizations. FAST is still in a trial operation phase, but once fully operational, it theoretically could discover some 5,000 to 7,000 pulsars a year, Liu said.

Scientists first discovered pulsars in 1967. Since then, more than 2,500 have been found, most of which are in the Milky Way galaxy, according to the Max Planck Society, a nonprofit research organization based in Germany.

"Every pulsar is unique, just like our fingerprints," Liu said. "FAST will play an irreplaceable role in greatly expanding our pulsar roster."

 

[JSCh]

Tiangong-1 expected to burn up on reentering atmosphere
Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-26 21:07:56|Editor: Jiaxin


BEIJING, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Tiangong-1, China's first space lab, should be fully burnt as it reenters the Earth's atmosphere, according to China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) on Monday.

Analysis from Beijing Aerospace Control Center shows that Tiangong-1 will reenter the Earth's atmosphere between March 31 and April 4.

Tiangong-1 orbited at an average altitude of 216.2 kilometers and was fully intact as of March 25, according to CMSEO.

Tiangong-1 was launched on Sept. 29, 2011 and ended service on March 16, 2016 after completing its mission.

 

[Galactic Penguin SST]

LINKSPACE RLV-T3 rocket VTVL test

18 Mar 2018

This has always been very exciting for us, because it not only means that we have acquired all the technology for the rocket recovery, but it is a new beginning. The next step is to make it fly higher and more stable. Soon, you will see the video of the rocket flying into the sky

Spoiler: Link

http://
https://twitter.com/Linkspace_China/status/975296243453673472
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc4l9mQ8HXk

▲ LINKSPACE RLV-T3 rocket VTVL test. Published on Mar 18, 2018

 

[JSCh]

Shenzhou aerospace institute enrolls foreign students
By Yin Han Source:Global Times Published: 2018/3/25 23:13:40

China's aerospace institute for the first time enrolled foreign students, prompting a Chinese expert on Sunday to note the massive progress the nation has made in space technology.

Shenzhou College under China Academy of Space Technology held a ceremony to welcome its first eight foreign students on March 19, the first time China has admitted foreign students in the aerospace field, the People's Daily website reported Saturday.

The students come from Pakistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Venezuela and Cambodia. After two years' study and oral defense of their thesis, they will receive a Chinese master's degree in aerospace science, the report said.

"China's aerospace industry technology is comprehensive especially its satellites for navigation, communication and meteorology, a field in which China can and would like to help other countries cultivate talent," Jiao Weixin, a space science professor at Peking University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

To provide a better service for foreign students, the college customized courses that would fit individual student's needs, according to the people.com.cn report.

The foreign students' abstract must be written in both English and Chinese. They will also take courses such as Chinese language and an introduction to China.

The academy has cooperated for years on project Know-How To Transfer with Pakistan, Nigeria, Venezuela, Ethiopia and Algeria.

While cultivating talent in those countries, the academy has also improved its training system, teaching administration and comprehensive capabilities, people.com.cn reported.

"The enrollment of foreign students also proved that China's technology in the field has made huge progress during the past years," Jiao said. "China used to receive help from countries such as the former Soviet Union and now is able to help others, which is also good for China in building its international image."

A Long March-2D rocket was launched in February carrying the 730-kilogram China seismo-electromagnetic satellite known as Zhangheng-1.

In 2018, China will see 36 launches of the Long March rocket series, with missions to form a network for the domestic Beidou navigation satellites, the Xinhua News Agency reported.