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

[JSCh]

Launched at 16:00

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林晓弈
10分钟前 来自 航爱网牌Android
三级点火后姿态发散了，失败了。

Unfortunately, weibo user 林晓弈 above reported that the mission is a failure. Lost of control after third stage ignition.

 

[JSCh]

“朱雀一号”发射卫星未能入轨_国内新闻_环球网
2018-10-27 18:48 环球时报—环球网

酒泉卫星发射中心，发射前的“朱雀一号”火箭

　　【环球时报—环球网报道 记者 李司坤】2018年10月27日下午16时，朱雀一号运载火箭在酒泉发射。火箭发射后飞行正常，一二级工作正常，整流罩分离正常，三级出现异常，蓝箭航天正组织进行技术原因分析，如有更多情况公司会向外界及时通报。

酒泉卫星发射中心，发射前的“朱雀一号”火箭

　　朱雀一号运载火箭是由民营火箭企业北京蓝箭空间科技有限公司自主研发的三级运载火箭，全箭总长19米，箭体直径1.35米，起飞重量27吨，起飞推力45吨。该型火箭于今年8月20日在我国西部某市完成总装。

Translation:

Zhuque-1 launched satellite fails to enter orbit
2018-10-27 18:48

[Global Times - GlobalTimes Network Reporter Li Sikun] At 16 o'clock on October 27, 2018, the Zhuque-1 launch vehicle was launched in Jiuquan. After the launch of the rocket, the flight is normal, the first and second stages are working normally, the fairing is separated normally, but the third stage is abnormal. Landspace Aerospace is currently organizing technical analysis. The company will notify the public if there are further development, .

The Zhuque-1 carrier rocket is a three-stage launch vehicle independently developed by the private rocket company Beijing Landspace Technology Co., Ltd. The total length of the arrow is 19 meters, the diameter of the arrow is 1.35 meters, the take-off weight is 27 tons, and the take-off thrust is 45 tons. This type of rocket completed the final assembly in a city in western China on August 20 this year.

 

[JSCh]

Unfortunately, weibo user 林晓弈 above reported that the mission is a failure. Lost of control after third stage ignition.

Update from 林晓弈
今天 09:10 来自 航爱网牌Android
确切消息: 第三级分离、点火正常，随后姿态有些失控，估计是姿控发动机问题。第三级及卫星已经到达340公里高度，但速度只有每秒6公里多，未入轨。估计落点在缅甸外海。

Today 9:10
Exact news: The third stage has separated and the ignition is normal. Then the posture is somewhat out of control, surmised to be problem with the attitude control engine. The third stage and the satellite have reached the height of 340 kilometers, but the speed is only a bit above 6 kilometers per second, fails to reach orbit. Estimate to have fall off the coast of Myanmar.

 

[TaiShang]

Update from 林晓弈
今天 09:10 来自 航爱网牌Android
确切消息: 第三级分离、点火正常，随后姿态有些失控，估计是姿控发动机问题。第三级及卫星已经到达340公里高度，但速度只有每秒6公里多，未入轨。估计落点在缅甸外海。

Today 9:10
Exact news: The third stage has separated and the ignition is normal. Then the posture is somewhat out of control, surmised to be problem with the attitude control engine. The third stage and the satellite have reached the height of 340 kilometers, but the speed is only a bit above 6 kilometers per second, fails to reach orbit. Estimate to have fall off the coast of Myanmar.

Then they will try again and again until success is achieved. One will never fails only if one never tries.

加油！

**

Chinese company launches world's first gene bank into space
SCIENCE
CGTN

2018-10-28 12:45 GMT+8

A Shanghai-based company has successfully launched the world's first gene bank, DSB-01, to space on-board Long March 4 series rocket at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China's Shanxi Province on Thursday.

The gene bank containing the genes of eight Chinese individuals who come from different walks of life is expected to create a new civilization for humankind.

By comparing the gene data stored in the Genetic Lyophilized Powder (GLP) in the space and on the ground, the project is able to obtain the impact of space environment on GLP storage. Scientists are able to develop a gene storage device that resists cosmic radiation and permanently preserves human seeds (genes) both on earth and space.

Initiated by Shanghai ManWei Technology Company, Ltd, or MARVEL TECH, this project could prove vital for interstellar migration and gene regeneration in the future.

According to the company, the DSB-01 can maintain safe in the orbit for a maximum of 975 years.

As the population of humankind continues to increase at unprecedented rates, earth science experts believe that the planet will become crowded and inhabitable within four hundred years. Depletion of the earth's resources is also expected to bring about various conflicts.

Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX – a US aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company – believes the answer to the future of humankind can be found in outer space.

He also announced a plan to transport one million people to Mars at the 67th annual International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2016.

(With the input from ChinaDaily)

(Top Image: DSB-01, which is regarded as the world's first outer space gene bank and attached to the Space Proving Platform (SPP) on the space exploration Long March 4 series rocket, was launched at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China's Shanxi Province on Thursday. /ChinaDaily Photo)

 

[rott]

@TaiShang Indians are celebrating in the India media comments section about the failed rocket.

 

[TaiShang]

@TaiShang Indians are celebrating in the India media comments section about the failed rocket.

Just a private company trying to master a technology on its own. I think this is not something to ridicule, but praise. However, Indians' reaction (some of them, at least) is understandable. Because they seem to have put their fortunes at the failure of China.

That's deeply ingrained in their fragile psyche.

I wonder how they will react when the company is successful next time.

***

Leading Chinese private rocket firm’s failure won’t dent industry’s growth

By Li Sikun and Chu Daye Source:Global Times Published: 2018/10/28 20:53:39
0

LandSpace launches its first rocket carrying a small satellite at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Northwest China's Gansu Province, on Saturday. Photo: VCG


The failure to send a satellite into orbit by LandSpace, seen by some as China's answer to SpaceX, won't dent the growing momentum of the nation's nascent private-sector commercial rocket launches, said analysts.

On Saturday, Beijing-based LandSpace launched its first rocket carrying a small satellite for State broadcaster China Media Group at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Northwest China's Gansu Province. The rocket's first and second stages worked well but an abnormality occurred during the third stage, and the cargo failed to reach its target orbit, according to the company's official Weibo.

The proprietary three-stage solid propellant rocket, named ZQ-1, is 19 meters tall with a takeoff weight of 27 metric tons.

LandSpace is a leading participant in China's private-sector efforts to launch commercial rockets aimed at a niche market of carrying smaller satellites into space, inspired by the success of Elon Musk's SpaceX. The fast development of the industry has seen two Chinese private firms successfully test rockets this year.

According to a January report by spaceworkscommercial.com, there is a need to launch 2,600 mini-sized satellites in the next five years.

Industry insiders said that if LandSpace could successfully put a satellite into orbit, it would win credibility as being able to deliver a cargo into space and separate itself from rivals by securing more confidence and funds from investors.

"The launch showed a private rocket is highly controllable and the overall performance of the first launch of ZQ-1 beat many similar missions in history," Zhang Changwu, CEO of LandSpace, told the Global Times on Saturday. "It also showed the support of the government for the development of private rockets and the aerospace industry."

Huang Zhicheng, a professor at the Beijing Institute of System Engineering, told the Global Times on Sunday that "for a fledging private start-up that's only three years old, the result is quite good." But he urged Chinese private-sector companies to pursue scientific development, not nominal titles.

SpaceX and Rocket Lab, both commercial rocket companies from the US, each had their moments of failure.

Lan Tianyi, founder of Beijing-based Ultimate Blue Nebula Co, a space industry consultancy, said there are many successful aspects for this failed mission.

"The fact that a private company's rocket gained clearance from State authorities for a launch permit, and conducted the launch in a State space center, and that the entire workflow was covered by this launch, showed that a private Chinese company can build and launch rockets," Lan told the Global Times on Sunday.

"The launch of LandSpace's ZQ-1, which is a near success, will be a confidence booster for other Chinese private companies that are yet to launch their first payload-carrying flights," Lan said.

The mission's failure was seen in a positive light by most netizens, as the topic became one of the most widely discussed over the weekend.

Many pointed out that failure teaches success and said the events of Saturday were a momentous first step by China's private-sector space companies worthy of applause for its partial successes during the launch.

"This could possibly be next year's essay topic for the college entrance exam," a netizen named miggina wrote in a post comment.

Lan said the failure by LandSpace will not damp the development of China's private commercial rocket industry - on the contrary, there is plenty of encouragement.

"In 2015, there were just a few commercial aerospace companies in China. Now, there's a new venture almost every month, showing that investors are getting to know this sector better," Lan said.

"The widespread attention gained by the LandSpace launch and people's tolerance of failure and their encouragement may actually make China's aerospace industry better," Lan said.

For small satellites, the success rate isn't the only target for clients, who may have other preferences such as timing and price, industry insiders said. The development of space insurance has also helped.


Newspaper headline: LandSpace fizzles in first space attempt

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1124836.shtml

 

[LKJ86]

Long March-2C
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
2018/10/29 08:43

 

[JSCh]

October 22, 2018
Launch of French-Chinese CFOSat satellite - CNES and CNRS join forces to study climate change in the world’s oceans

The French-Chinese CFOSat satellite will be launched on Monday 29 October atop a Chinese Long March 2C vehicle from the Jiuquan launch base in Inner Mongolia. This science mission to study ocean surface winds and waves is the first joint project pursued under French-Chinese space cooperation. Developed by CNES and the China National Space Administration (CNSA), the satellite will carry two radar instruments: SWIM (Surface Waves Investigation and Monitoring), developed by France, which will survey the length, height and direction of waves; and SCAT (wind SCATterometer), developed by China, which will measure the strength and direction of winds. The two instruments will enable measurements of winds and waves to be acquired simultaneously for the first time. CFOSat will thus characterize the dynamics of waves and how they interact with surface winds more comprehensively than ever before.​

The CFOSat mission has been designed to gain new insights into ocean surface characteristics (winds and waves) and their impacts on the atmosphere-ocean exchanges that play a key role in the climate system. It will shed new light on the hitherto poorly understood role of waves in the lower layers of the atmosphere, the ocean surface and polar sea ice. Complementing other current Earth remote-sensing satellites, CFOSat will deliver crucial observations for atmospheric and sea-state forecasting and digital modelling of the coupled ocean-atmosphere system. The satellite will also provide precise data on deep-sea wave conditions, which have a bearing on the impact of waves on coastal areas.

The French scientific community is closely involved in the CFOSat mission through two research laboratories attached to the national scientific research centre CNRS: the LATMOS atmospheres, environments and space observations laboratory (CNRS/UVSQ/SU) and the LOPS physical and space oceanography laboratory (CNRS/IRD/Ifremer/UBO), which came up with the concept for the SWIM instrument, the first rotating-beam scatterometer of its kind. The instrument was developed by Thales Alenia Space with CNES oversight. French teams will task and monitor the SWIM instrument from the mission centre at the Toulouse Space Centre.

In recent years, LATMOS, LOPS and teams at the national weather service Meteo-France have been conducting research in readiness to use data collected by SWIM and SCAT—on the ocean surface, ocean/atmosphere interactions and severe weather events—and multiplying their efforts to prepare to validate these data for research and applications purposes. The teams have worked closely with industry partners specializing in satellite data processing and validation such as ACRI-ST, CLS and et Ocean Data Lab.

After a month or so checking out the instruments, the mission will be ready to deliver data to science teams at LATMOS, LOPS and the marine forecasting department of Meteo-France, who will then analyse and validate them. Data will be made available to the scientific community after six to seven months.

Looking forward to the launch, CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall commented: “CFOSat materializes France and China’s commitment to tackling climate change and is the result of a unique partnership in this domain. CNES and CNRS, through their research laboratories and partners, are the standard-bearers of France’s excellence in innovative space technologies which, combined with China’s technological expertise, makes CFOSat such a unique satellite that is set to improve our knowledge and our ability to forecast climate phenomena between the ocean and atmosphere more accurately.”

Antoine Petit, Chairman & CEO of CNRS, the French national scientific research centre, added: “With the CFOSat satellite, scientists can look forward to new and original insights into ocean surface winds and waves that will inform their research into ocean and atmosphere processes. Teams at CNRS and CNES have been working to prepare this space mission for more than 10 years. They are now readying to validate and then use its data in a spirit of international cooperation.”



presse.cnes.fr | Launch of French-Chinese CFOSat satellite - CNES and CNRS join forces to study climate change in the world’s oceans

October 29, 2018
FRANCE-CHINA SPACE COOPERATION - CFOSAT IN ORBIT

Monday 29 October, the China France Oceanography Satellite (CFOSat) was placed into orbit by a Chinese Long March 2C launch vehicle from the Jiuquan launch base in Inner Mongolia. CFOSat’s solar array deployed successfully 32 minutes later and the satellite started its science mission to study ocean surface winds and waves.

The CFOSat mission has been designed to gain new insights into ocean surface characteristics and their impacts on the atmosphere-ocean exchanges that play a key role in the climate system. The satellite is carrying two radar instruments: SWIM (Surface Waves Investigation and Monitoring), developed by France, which will survey the length, height and direction of waves; and SCAT (wind SCATterometer), developed by China, which will measure the strength and direction of winds. Simultaneous acquisition of wind and wave measurements by the two instruments constitutes a scientific first.

France and China developed the satellite together. During the data exploitation phase, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) will be in charge of satellite command-control from its Xi’an control centre. Working closely with this operational team, CNES will task and monitor the SWIM instrument from its Toulouse Space Centre. CNSA will likewise task and monitor the SCAT instrument from its mission centre in Beijing. Each country will acquire all SCAT and SWIM science data via two French receiving stations in Canada and Sweden and three stations in China. Each partner nation will thus assure redundancy of science telemetry reception and processing.

After the announcement of the launch’s success, CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall commented from the Jiuquan launch base: “In 1997, CNES and CNSA signed the first cooperation agreement between France and the People’s Republic of China on the study and peaceful uses of outer space. It was in 2014 that we decided to go ahead with the CFOSat ocean-surveying mission, a major project confirming our nations’ commitment to tackling climate change and the culmination of a unique partnership in this domain. CNES and CNSA have constantly combined their efforts in this area ever since. We signed a memorandum of understanding in January this year, in the presence of Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Xi Jinping, to step up this cooperation and encourage wide uptake of CFOSat data. These data will be instrumental in the success of the Space Climate Observatory (SCO), one of the flagship measures in the Paris Declaration adopted by the world’s space agencies at the One Planet Summit in December 2017.”


presse.cnes.fr | France-China space cooperation - CFOSat in orbit

 

[JSCh]

IIRC, US bar export of such device to China.
=========
China's Ty-Space Tech to Sell Star Tracker to US NGO Mitre
TANG SHIHUA
DATE: MON, 10/29/2018 - 13:57 / SOURCE:YICAI

(Yicai Global) Oct. 29 -- Spacecraft sensor maker Ty-Space Technology will provide a navigational tool for US not-for-profit organization Mitre.

Mitre has placed an order for a star tracker priced at USD72,800, Tianyin Electromechanical, which the parent of the Beijing-based optical sensor maker, said in a statement on Oct. 26. The device helps a spacecraft to position itself according to the location of stars.

Mitre, which manages several federally funded research centers in the US, has signed a letter of commitment to prove that the equipment will not be used for military purposes. Some of the units under the Bedford-based non-governmental organization are the Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute, as well as the National Security Engineering Center.

For many years, Mitre has helped develop the Global Positioning System and the NGO drafts several universal standards in the satellite sector, the statement added.

 

[JSCh]

航空航天港9ifly
40分钟前 来自 iPhone客户端
日前，航天智能技术创新中心、宇航智能控制技术国家级重点实验室开展了运载火箭垂直回收制导控制技术验证试验，飞行取得成功！！

Recently, the Aerospace Intelligent Technology Innovation Center and the National Key Laboratory of Aerospace Intelligent Control Technology carried out the verification test of the vertical recovery and guidance control technology of the launch vehicle, and the flight was successful! ! Link to video of the test -> 航空航天港9ifly的秒拍视频

​

https://twitter.com/x/status/1056903352578199552

 

[Adam WANG SHANGHAI MEGA]

Core Module of Tiangong Space station

 

[Daniel808]

Core Module of Tiangong Space station

It's not Tiangong Space Station.

That's Tianhe (with mass weight 24-25 Tonnes), Core Module for Chinese Large Modular Space Station (CLMSS).

Chinese Large Modular Space Station (CLMSS) Design

And will be launch in 2019 by Long March 5B Heavy Orbital Launch Vehicle Rocket (a special variant for LEO from Long March 5 Rocket)

Long March 5 Rocket
(Can launch payload with 25,000kg to LEO, 15,000kg to SSO, 8,200kg to TLI, and 5,000kg to TMI)

 

[JSCh]

Private satellite companies see rising revenue
(People's Daily Online) 16:29, October 31, 2018

Spacety’s staff pose with their satellites (Photo/Chinanews.com)

Chinese private satellite companies are expanding their market share by tapping potential in multiple areas, The Beijing News reported on Oct. 30.

Spacety, a private satellite company, which positions itself as a satellite mini-lab that helps people conquer space, said it plans to launch more than 10 small satellites into space this year.

The company successfully sent its four self-developed satellites into space using a Long March 2C rocket on Oct. 29, its second mission this year.

Spacety’s revenue is expected to reach 60 million yuan this year, growing three-fold since last year, said its CEO, Yang Feng, adding that his company will expand its business beyond remote sensing and communication as the next step.

Commsat, a Beijing-based private satellite company, will launch its Ladybeetle satellites into space by the end of this year, with the aim of authenticating the Internet of Things system.

The private companies said they could cultivate their advantages in multiple areas such as remote sensing, communication, and scientific research. They’ve also prepared differentiated marketing strategies to avoid competition with state-owned satellite companies.

Microsatellites have become a new business area for private companies, driven by military-civilian integration, and the fact that nowadays it takes much less money to produce and launch a satellite.

Yang said the company is cooperating with state-owned satellite companies to finish their orders, mainly in the manufacturing of scientific research satellites.

The satellite companies are teaming up with online marketplaces on the latter’s consumer services. For instance, Alibaba and Suning will use satellites to communicate with their customers on the eve of the Double 11 shopping spree.

 

[JSCh]

Chief designer with Chang'e 4. Reported to be currently under testing at Xichang. Scheduled to be launch early December to far side of the moon.

 

[JSCh]

Model of Chang'e 4 at Zhuhai Airshow