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Andrew Jones
Published on Apr 23, 2019
Video released by Chinese social media account Our Space to mark the 2019 China Space Day on April 24, 2019.
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NEWS | 30 APRIL 2019NOTE:
NEA is Near earth asteroid, MBC is Main belt comet.
NEA target is 469219 Kamoʻoalewa - Wikipedia
MBC target is 7968 Elst–Pizarro - Wikipedia
Private firms race to build carrier rockets
By Zhao Lei | China Daily | Updated: 2018-07-16 07:21
The research and development of carrier rockets is a major sign of a space-faring nation's capability and had been long dominated by government-backed giants around the world.
Hyperbola-1S, i-Space's carrier rocket, awaits its launch in April. [Photo/China Daily]
However, in the wake of emerging business opportunities, the United States and China have realized that it is necessary to introduce new players to stimulate innovation and competition and to fill in market gaps left by established contractors.
As an important part of his endeavor to strengthen China's space industry, President Xi Jinping has requested that the long insulated industry should open its doors to private enterprises and take advantage of their participation to boost sustainable growth.
Meanwhile, several government departments have published policies and guidelines that encourage private businesses to take part in space-related businesses.
As a result, nearly 10 private rocket firms have been launched in China over the past three years.
Among them, i-Space and OneSpace Technology, two startups based in Beijing, have taken leading positions, as each has launched a test rocket developed on their own to verify their designs and equipment.
The two have made it clear that they have no intention of grabbing government-funded missions from State-owned space giants, namely China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp and China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, but aspire to satiate the huge demand in launch service from newly founded satellite companies, most of which also are privately owned.
They are now focused on assembling new prototypes for further tests and striving to develop mass-production models that are expected to fulfill commercial contracts.
Xie Fang, a senior designer at i-Space, said the company plans to lift a Hyperbola-1Z experimental rocket in the coming months at a national space launch center, which he declined to name.
The mission is mainly tasked with demonstrating technologies for the Hyperbola-1, i-Space's first mass-production carrier rocket.
He said the Hyperbola-1Z will conduct a flight to an altitude of about 150 kilometers before placing a retrievable mini satellite into orbit.
The mission will mark the first time a privately developed rocket is launched from a national space facility, as opposed to previous launches that used non-space testing fields, he said.
Xie said Hyperbola-1 will have its debut flight in the first half of 2019.
It will have a diameter of 1.4 m, a length of 20 m and a liftoff weight of 31 metric tons.
The rocket will be able to transport a 300-kilogram satellite into a low-Earth orbit or a 100-kg satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit.
He noted that four launches of Hyperbola-1 rockets are scheduled in 2019 to lift clients' satellites.
His company has also begun to design the Hyperbola-3, a larger type rocket with nine 15-ton-thrust, liquid-propellant engines, and plans to launch it as early as 2020, Xie said.
In late June, i-Space announced it has received an investment of 600 million yuan ($90 million) from more than 10 domestic funds and venture capital.
OneSpace, headquartered near i-Space, is probably the most talked about firm in the media compared to its peers, thanks to its high-profile founder Shu Chang.
It has been preparing for the first mission of its OS-M1, a 19-m, solid-propellant rocket which OneSpace has pinned high hopes of attracting launch contracts for small satellites.
The company has garnered total investment of nearly 500 million yuan from domestic agencies and plans for an annual manufacturing capacity of around 50 rockets in 2020.
In addition to the two that have had launches, another heavyweight player, Land-Space, which is also a space industry startup in Beijing, has published a plan to build "the largest and most powerful carrier rocket designed and built by a Chinese private rocket company".
It expects to make its debut flight in 2020.
The company said in a statement sent to China Daily that the design of the ZQ 2, a 48.8-m, liquid-propellant rocket, was completed in June and construction of the rocket's key components has begun.
It said the rocket will go through a series of ground tests before the end of 2019 and if everything goes well in accordance with its schedule, ZQ 2 will conduct its maiden flight in 2020.
The ZQ 2 will have a diameter of 3.35 m, the same as most of China's Long March-series rockets, and a weight of 216 tons.
With a liftoff mass of 268 tons, it will be capable of placing a 2-ton payload into a sun-synchronous orbit 500 kilometers above the Earth or a 4-ton spacecraft to a low-Earth orbit with an altitude of 200 km.
Zhang Changwu, founder and CEO of LandSpace, said that upon its completion, the ZQ 2 will become the biggest and mightiest carrier rocket that has been developed by a Chinese private enterprise.
"The participation of private firms will substantially reduce the launch cost and help to boost the commercialization of the entire space industry," said Wu Zhijian, director-general of China Space Foundation.
He said private players with creativity and technology are crucial to achieving the nation's goal of building a strong space power.
22:47, 27-Apr-2019
China’s first seaborne rocket launch set in June
By Gong Zhe
China's first seaborne rocket launch is scheduled for June 2019. The Long Match-11 carrier rocket will blast off from the sea, sending satellites into the Earth's orbit, reported Jilin Network Television.
Rocket models in Chang Guang Satellite Science Museum. / Photo via JLNTV
The satellites were independently developed by Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd, which, up until now, has successfully launched 12 Jilin-1 satellites into space. “All those satellites function properly,” said Jia Hongguang, deputy manager of this technology company.
China will achieve a breakthrough in the seaborne launch this year. “We will launch 20 more satellites by the end of this year. And there will be up to 32 satellites in space by that time,” said Jia.
It is reported that the seaborne launch plan was modified from a colossal vessel. Compared with the land launch, the seaborne launch can be more flexible and safer.
If it succeeds, the seaborne launch technology will also be used for Belt and Road countries.
(Top image via JLNTV)
China航天China航天
5月7日 13:50
今天7时17分, “吉林一号”高分03A星出征仪式在长光卫星技术有限公司航天信息产业园举行。据了解,“吉林一号”高分03A星将6月份择期在海上发射,此次发射将是中国首次卫星海上发射。发射成功后,“吉林一号”高分03A星将与此前发射的12颗“吉林一号”卫星组网,为林业、农业、草原、海洋、资源、环境等行业用户提供更加丰富的遥感数据和产品服务。“吉林一号”高分03A星是由长光卫星技术有限公司自主研发的新一代光学遥感卫星,分辨率1m、幅宽17km、重量仅为42kg、轨道高度579km,具有低成本、轻量化、短周期的特点O网页链接
China's first 5m diameter common bulkhead structure tank developed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Institute航天科技一院研制的我国首件5米直径共底结构贮箱下线前不久,我国首件5米直径共底结构贮箱在中国航天科技集团有限公司一院211厂天津火箭公司成功下线。
来源:中国航天报 日期:2019年05月09日
共底贮箱的外表看起来是一个贮箱,而内部通过特殊的共底结构将贮箱分成两个内腔,分别贮存不同的推进剂,相当于两个贮箱。它能够有效减轻贮箱结构重量,具有体积大等特点,能够有效提高火箭运载能力。(徐婷婷/文 蒙丹阳/摄)
STS-001