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China Space Military：Recon, Satcom, Navi, ASAT/BMD, Orbital Vehicle, SLV, etc.
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China Developing Three Commercial Satellite Buses
China Developing Three Commercial Satellite Buses
Like London buses, three Chinese satellite platforms are coming at once
Nov 25, 2013Bradley Perrett | Aviation Week & Space Technology
DFH SUCCESSFUL IN MILITARY AND COMMERCIAL MARKETS
Thursday, February 11, 2016
ChinaSat-1C, a DFH-4 satellite, lifting off on a CZ-3B
Source: Xinhua
NEWTOWN, Conn. - China has successfully marketed the DFH-4 to developing countries by offering satellite design and manufacturing, launch services, and launch insurance as a single package. The DFH-4 bus also has domestic customers in China, such as China Direct Broadcast Satellite Co Ltd (ChinaSat) and APT Satellite. The older DFH-3 also continues to generate sales. Its smaller size make it cheaper than the larger, more capable DFH-4. It forms the basis of China's Beidou navigation satellites as well as communications birds such as LaoSat-1.
Nigeria, Pakistan, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Laos have recently taken delivery of DFH buses. Sri Lanka, Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nicaragua will take delivery of satellites during the forecast period. Chinese company ChinaSat is also a major customer. The satellite bus will continue to compete, and will likely receive additional contract awards during the forecast period.
China also continues to upgrade the spacecraft bus. The Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST) plans to introduce two new variants of the DFH-4: a smaller version dubbed the DFH-4S and a larger DFH-4E. ChinaSat 16 will be based on the DFH-4E bus. The different variants will enable China to match satellites with specific performance and price requirements for different customers. China also plans to introduce an all-new DFH platform, designated DFH-5.
China's decision to expand its satellite navigation system on the scale of the U.S. Global Positioning System boosted production of the DFH family of satellites. China plans to use DFH-3 as the basis for Beidou. Beginning in 2015, China started launching the third generation Beiodou spacecraft, which feature longer lifespans and higher accuracy. China plans to launch between 30 and 35 Compass satellites, which will accommodate both civilian and military users.
A combination of commercial and military sales will drive DFH production during the forecast period.
Source: Forecast International
Associated URL: www.forecastinternational.com
Source Date: February 11, 2016
Author: B. Ostrove, Analyst
Posted: 02/11/2016
https://www.forecastinternational.com/news/index.cfm?recno=238415
http://worldspaceriskforum.com/2014/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/11C_DISCOVERING-NEW-MISSIONS_YE.pdf
[/url][/IMG]
China Developing Three Commercial Satellite Buses
Like London buses, three Chinese satellite platforms are coming at once
Nov 25, 2013Bradley Perrett | Aviation Week & Space Technology
- COMMENTS 0
China may have had limited success so far in exporting commercial satellites, but it is investing heavily for the future. The country has two satellite buses in service and has taken export orders for only six, one a replacement for the in-orbit failure of another. Yet it is keenly aware of the foreign commercial market and has three more buses under development, with the aim of offering a product range with launch weights of up to 7 metric tons.
Noting the rising importance of commercial demand within the global space industry, Chinese launcher builder China Academy of Launch Technology (CALT) described the national commercial space strategy at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Beijing in September. Apart from China's need to improve technology, CALT officials emphasized the importance of offering a wide range of services and products, optimizing and packaging them as necessary. Hugely staffed Chinese state organizations often have trouble coordinating activities such as these. Marketing is also a priority, say CALT officials Shan Wenjie, Wang Chafe, Dai Kun and Kang Sibei. That, too, is not a strong point of traditionally defense-oriented government enterprises.
Customers from advanced countries may be slow in emerging, but in other advanced industries, including aeronautics, China has first learned international business with sales to poorer countries, and it is doing the same in the commercial space market.
Much can be inferred about China's approach from its contract last decade for Nigeria's Nigcomsat-1, says Joan Johnson-Freese of the U.S. Naval War College. “China built and launched that satellite in 2007, beating out 21 other bidders for the project,” she notes. “The price was right and China has been willing, indeed eager, to establish itself as the country that will train space professionals from developing countries, including Nigeria, Pakistan and Bolivia.”
The DFH-5 satellite bus, seen here in model form, will offer almost twice the electrical power of China's current offering, the DFH-4. (Credit: Bradley Perrett/AW&ST)
Johnson-Freese points out that “China can prove the reliability of its technology—establish a track record—through programs with developing countries, and then try to expand to other, developed countries looking for low-risk and competitively priced space technology.”
Part of China's plan is to offer a wider variety of satellite buses—standardized but incomplete spacecraft designed to support various payloads, such as communications gear. Officials from spacecraft specialist China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a sibling of CALT in the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC) group, note that communications satellites increasingly need greater power supplies and heat-dissipation capacity, more space for transponders and greater launch mass. That means that China, while increasing the size of its satellite buses, has been chasing a moving target.
China's current offering is limited, with apparently only one bus, the DFH-4, in production for commercial clients. The DFH-4 has a launch mass of up to 5.32 tons, a maximum dry mass of 2.2 tons, including a payload of 700 kg (1,543 lb.), and power of 10.5 kw, of which the payload receives up to 8 kw. CAST says 10 satellites built on that model bus have been launched, the last eight successfully. One, Venezuela's Venesat-1, has served for five years.
But three new satellite buses are being developed, all derived from the DFH-4 to varying degrees. The first, the DFH-4S (for “small” and “smart”), is aimed not at meeting demand for larger buses but at extending the range to a lower size. CAST says it began developing the DFH-4S in 2006, 10 years after the DFH-4 effort started and just as that latter bus was first launched.
The DFH-4S also introduces advances in avionics and batteries, which use lithium-ion technology, and it has a plasma propulsion system (PPS), says CAST. The maximum launch mass of a satellite built on the DFH-4S bus will be 4.6 tons and dry mass 1.59 metric tons, of which up to 450 kg will be the payload. Power will be 7.8 kw, of which up to 4 kw can be supplied to the payload.
The manufacturer says it has signed a sale for the DFH-4S but does not identify the customer, which is presumably another state agency. A forerunner of the new bus, the Chinese Experimental Satellite, “is also scheduled to be launched, through which CAST will facilitate in-orbit validation of PPS and other technology of communication satellites,” it says.
In 2010, CAST began developing another member of the family, the DFH-4E (for “enhanced”), using some new technology and some from the DFH-4S. “Compared with the DFH-4 platform, the DFH-4E has bigger communications-module dimensions, higher power capacity and heat-dissipation capability, and provides better adaptability for more complex payload design,” CAST officials Liu Likun, Wang Yihong, Shi Ming and Wei Qiang said at the IAC.
The DFH-4E will have triple-junction gallium-arsenide solar cells generating 65 kw per kilogram. By using lithium-ion instead of nickel-hydrogen technology for batteries, the designers have saved 80 kg, says CAST, which adds that it is also looking at further developments in solar cells and batteries. Like the DFH-4S, the DFH-4E will use a plasma (electrical) propulsion system. The attitude determination and control system is being improved to keep the DFH-4E aligned to within 0.04 deg. for roll and pitch and 0.1 deg. for yaw; the equivalent figures for the DFH-4 and DFH-4S are 0.06 deg. and 0.2 deg.
A further advance for the DFH-4E is the introduction of an overlapping arrangement for fitting more antennas on to the spacecraft.
The objective of the DFH-4E program is to create a competitive offering that benefits from DFH-4 and DFH-4S, says CAST. “DFH-4E system-level verification includes a mechanical model to demonstrate [the] longer cylinder and communications module (CM), multi-floor CM, enlarged propellant tank [and] overlap antenna. A thermal module is used to verify the thermal design of the multi-floor communication [module].” The electrical design, including interfaces between subsystems, has followed that of the DFH-4S. The DFH-4E is expected to pass all qualification requirements and “offer a mature platform to customers with little risk.”
The third new bus is the DFH-5, with a maximum mass of 7 tons matched to the throw-weight of the forthcoming Long March 5 heavy launcher. Total spacecraft power, up to 20 kw, will be almost double that of DFH-4. Three years ago, DFH-5 was due to go into service in 2016-17. CAST and China Great Wall Industry Corp. (CGWIC) have not updated that, but a year or two of development slippage may not matter, because the Long March 5 is running late. In March, state media said the launcher will “probably” fly in 2015.
The status of the old DFH-3 bus, first launched 19 years ago, is unclear. With a maximum launch mass of 2.32 tons, payload power of 1 kw and design life of “at least eight years,” it has little competitiveness in the international commercial market. CGWIC seems no longer to be promoting it for export, but it is still used for Chinese government missions, such as the Chang'e lunar exploration program. An upgraded design, the DFH-3B, with the same 15-year design life as the later Chinese buses, is in production, and a version with lithium-ion propulsion for north-south station keeping is due to be launched in 2015.
Chinese private enterprise will soon move into the international space industry, officials of CALT said at the IAC. “In China, there is no real private enterprise to take part in international commercial aerospace activities, but state-owned space enterprises have taken advantage of private enterprise's advanced technologies,” they said, giving no examples. “With the development of market economy reform and the progress of the scientific research power of private enterprises, we can believe that China's private enterprise will emerge on the international commercial aerospace stage in the near future.”
Still, the appearance of private China launch services in the next decade would be surprising. Across the Chinese economy, it is a challenge for private businesses to compete with protected state enterprises. And although the national leadership is seeking to liberalize the economy, resistance to competition from CASC and China Aerospace Science & Industry Corp., another state space manufacturer, will surely be powerful.
DFH SUCCESSFUL IN MILITARY AND COMMERCIAL MARKETS
Thursday, February 11, 2016
ChinaSat-1C, a DFH-4 satellite, lifting off on a CZ-3B
Source: Xinhua
NEWTOWN, Conn. - China has successfully marketed the DFH-4 to developing countries by offering satellite design and manufacturing, launch services, and launch insurance as a single package. The DFH-4 bus also has domestic customers in China, such as China Direct Broadcast Satellite Co Ltd (ChinaSat) and APT Satellite. The older DFH-3 also continues to generate sales. Its smaller size make it cheaper than the larger, more capable DFH-4. It forms the basis of China's Beidou navigation satellites as well as communications birds such as LaoSat-1.
Nigeria, Pakistan, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Laos have recently taken delivery of DFH buses. Sri Lanka, Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nicaragua will take delivery of satellites during the forecast period. Chinese company ChinaSat is also a major customer. The satellite bus will continue to compete, and will likely receive additional contract awards during the forecast period.
China also continues to upgrade the spacecraft bus. The Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST) plans to introduce two new variants of the DFH-4: a smaller version dubbed the DFH-4S and a larger DFH-4E. ChinaSat 16 will be based on the DFH-4E bus. The different variants will enable China to match satellites with specific performance and price requirements for different customers. China also plans to introduce an all-new DFH platform, designated DFH-5.
China's decision to expand its satellite navigation system on the scale of the U.S. Global Positioning System boosted production of the DFH family of satellites. China plans to use DFH-3 as the basis for Beidou. Beginning in 2015, China started launching the third generation Beiodou spacecraft, which feature longer lifespans and higher accuracy. China plans to launch between 30 and 35 Compass satellites, which will accommodate both civilian and military users.
A combination of commercial and military sales will drive DFH production during the forecast period.
Source: Forecast International
Associated URL: www.forecastinternational.com
Source Date: February 11, 2016
Author: B. Ostrove, Analyst
Posted: 02/11/2016
https://www.forecastinternational.com/news/index.cfm?recno=238415
http://worldspaceriskforum.com/2014/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/11C_DISCOVERING-NEW-MISSIONS_YE.pdf
JSCh
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Long March-7 rocket delivered to launch site
Source: Xinhua | 2016-05-08 14:57:25 | Editor: huaxia
TIANJIN, May 8, 2016 (Xinhua) -- A container carrying China's new-generation Long March-7 rocket is seen at the port in north China's Tianjin, May 7, 2016. The Long March-7 rocket departed for its launch base in Hainan on Sunday from Tianjin. It has taken researchers eight years to develop the medium-sized rocket, which can carry up to 13.5 tonnes to low Earth orbit, said Li Hong, director of the Carrier Rocket Technology Research Institute with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. (Xinhua/Chen Xi)
TIANJIN, May 8 (Xinhua) -- China's new-generation Long March-7 rocket departed for its launch base in Hainan on Sunday from north China's port of Tianjin.
It has taken researchers eight years to develop the medium-sized rocket, which can carry up to 13.5 tonnes to low Earth orbit, said Li Hong, director of the Carrier Rocket Technology Research Institute with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
"The Long March-7 launch scheduled for late June will be of great significance as it will usher in China's space lab mission," said Yang Baohua, deputy manager of the company.
China also plans to launch the heavy lift Long March-5 to transport cargo for the planned space station.
China's second orbiting space lab, Tiangong-2, will also be launched this fall, and it is scheduled to dock with manned spacecraft Shenzhou-11 in the fourth quarter.
Yang said that the Long March-7 carrier is more environmentally friendly than earlier Long March models. The rocket will become the main carrier for space launches.
Source: Xinhua | 2016-05-08 14:57:25 | Editor: huaxia
TIANJIN, May 8, 2016 (Xinhua) -- A container carrying China's new-generation Long March-7 rocket is seen at the port in north China's Tianjin, May 7, 2016. The Long March-7 rocket departed for its launch base in Hainan on Sunday from Tianjin. It has taken researchers eight years to develop the medium-sized rocket, which can carry up to 13.5 tonnes to low Earth orbit, said Li Hong, director of the Carrier Rocket Technology Research Institute with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. (Xinhua/Chen Xi)
TIANJIN, May 8 (Xinhua) -- China's new-generation Long March-7 rocket departed for its launch base in Hainan on Sunday from north China's port of Tianjin.
It has taken researchers eight years to develop the medium-sized rocket, which can carry up to 13.5 tonnes to low Earth orbit, said Li Hong, director of the Carrier Rocket Technology Research Institute with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
"The Long March-7 launch scheduled for late June will be of great significance as it will usher in China's space lab mission," said Yang Baohua, deputy manager of the company.
China also plans to launch the heavy lift Long March-5 to transport cargo for the planned space station.
China's second orbiting space lab, Tiangong-2, will also be launched this fall, and it is scheduled to dock with manned spacecraft Shenzhou-11 in the fourth quarter.
Yang said that the Long March-7 carrier is more environmentally friendly than earlier Long March models. The rocket will become the main carrier for space launches.
Last edited:
JSCh
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CCTV News
Published on May 8, 2016
China's liquid-fueled carrier rocket — Long March-7 — is being sent to its launch base in southernmost Hainan island from Tianjin, north of the country. Its maiden flight is scheduled for June, marking the official start of China's space lab flight mission.
cirr
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Chinese media reported that Yuan Wang-21 that is carrying Long March-7(CZ-7) arrive safely at Wenchang, Hainan today, 14 May at around 16:00 hr. After a sea trip of 6 days and 1,670 nm.
Video link: http://news.cctv.com/2016/05/14/VIDElaCnmV4lfKba60xVBkBY160514.shtml
Video link: http://news.cctv.com/2016/05/14/VIDElaCnmV4lfKba60xVBkBY160514.shtml
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cirr
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China launches Yaogan-30 remote sensing satellite
Source: Xinhua | May 15, 2016, Sunday |
ONLINE EDITION
CHINA'S Yaogan-30 remote sensing satellite was sent into space on Sunday at 10:43 a.m. from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's gobi desert.
The satellite will be used for experiments, land surveys, crop yield estimates and disaster relief.
Yaogan-30 was carried by a Long March-2D rocket, the 227th mission for the Long March rocket family.
China launched the first "Yaogan" series satellite, Yaogan-1, in 2006.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nation/China-launches-Yaogan30-remote-sensing-satellite/shdaily.shtml
GAOFEN-10 WITHIN HOURS – 02:40 GMT ON 15TH MAY 2016 !
Posted on: May 14, 2016 at 5:01 pm, by admin
Comments are closed
Another Chinese imaging Satellite will be Launched tomorrow on 02:40 GMT from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on atop of Long March 2D – standard Rocket used for Chinese reconnaISSance and imaging satellites.
China again decided not to announce detaILS about flight, but luckily some leaks were spotted basically thanks to the warnings referring to airspace over Jiuquan launch center. Satellite, which is planned to be launched, will be Gaofen-10 (which is also mentioned as Yaogan-30). It is next Chinese imaging satellite based probably on CAST-2000 bus and designed by Shanghai Academy ofspaceflight Technology (SAST). According to official sources Gaofen-10, as rest of the Gaofen constellation, will serve for city planning, general observation purpoSES and for natural dISAster imaging. According to Chinese sources satellite is called also Gaofen-10/Yaogan-30 what makes any kind of suppositions about technical specification quite hard. Gaofen satellites are in general part of the CHEOS, which was established in as independent Chinese imaging satellite program. First satellite under CHEOS program was launched on 26 April 2013 on atop Long March 2D from Jiuquan satellite center. It was Gaofen-1, designed by Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) using CAST2000 bus. Satellite was equipped with 2 m panchromatic/8 m multi-spectral camera and additional wide angle 16 m multISPectral medium-resolution camera. Last Gaofen satellite was launched on December 28, 2016, on atop of Long March 3B from Xichang space center. It was imaging satellite equipped with visible light imaging unit with resolution of 50 m and infrared imaging device operating with resolution of 400 m. Yaogan satellites are also construction of Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) but they are considered by western specialists as Militaryreconnaissance satellites used mainly for tracking submarines using SAR radars and optical instruments. Each Yaogan satellite is equipped with SAR radar or high resolution cameras and (as usual) is intended, according to Chinese media, to general observation and city planning (China seems to possess largest constellation of satellites for urban planning…). Last Yaogan satellite was launched on November 26, 2015 from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. Due these differences it is hard at the moment to predict what kind of spacecraft is Gaofen-10; for sure it is imaging or remote sensing satellite but still nothing more was unveiled.
In spite of lack any precision data about Gaofen-10 we can assume that it will be satellite with optical observation devices or SAR radar onboard. It is hard to predict on which satellite bus it was built, but surely tomorrow some new details will be announced.
Sources:
Source: Xinhua | May 15, 2016, Sunday |
CHINA'S Yaogan-30 remote sensing satellite was sent into space on Sunday at 10:43 a.m. from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's gobi desert.
The satellite will be used for experiments, land surveys, crop yield estimates and disaster relief.
Yaogan-30 was carried by a Long March-2D rocket, the 227th mission for the Long March rocket family.
China launched the first "Yaogan" series satellite, Yaogan-1, in 2006.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nation/China-launches-Yaogan30-remote-sensing-satellite/shdaily.shtml
GAOFEN-10 WITHIN HOURS – 02:40 GMT ON 15TH MAY 2016 !
Posted on: May 14, 2016 at 5:01 pm, by admin
Comments are closed
Another Chinese imaging Satellite will be Launched tomorrow on 02:40 GMT from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on atop of Long March 2D – standard Rocket used for Chinese reconnaISSance and imaging satellites.
China again decided not to announce detaILS about flight, but luckily some leaks were spotted basically thanks to the warnings referring to airspace over Jiuquan launch center. Satellite, which is planned to be launched, will be Gaofen-10 (which is also mentioned as Yaogan-30). It is next Chinese imaging satellite based probably on CAST-2000 bus and designed by Shanghai Academy ofspaceflight Technology (SAST). According to official sources Gaofen-10, as rest of the Gaofen constellation, will serve for city planning, general observation purpoSES and for natural dISAster imaging. According to Chinese sources satellite is called also Gaofen-10/Yaogan-30 what makes any kind of suppositions about technical specification quite hard. Gaofen satellites are in general part of the CHEOS, which was established in as independent Chinese imaging satellite program. First satellite under CHEOS program was launched on 26 April 2013 on atop Long March 2D from Jiuquan satellite center. It was Gaofen-1, designed by Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) using CAST2000 bus. Satellite was equipped with 2 m panchromatic/8 m multi-spectral camera and additional wide angle 16 m multISPectral medium-resolution camera. Last Gaofen satellite was launched on December 28, 2016, on atop of Long March 3B from Xichang space center. It was imaging satellite equipped with visible light imaging unit with resolution of 50 m and infrared imaging device operating with resolution of 400 m. Yaogan satellites are also construction of Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) but they are considered by western specialists as Militaryreconnaissance satellites used mainly for tracking submarines using SAR radars and optical instruments. Each Yaogan satellite is equipped with SAR radar or high resolution cameras and (as usual) is intended, according to Chinese media, to general observation and city planning (China seems to possess largest constellation of satellites for urban planning…). Last Yaogan satellite was launched on November 26, 2015 from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. Due these differences it is hard at the moment to predict what kind of spacecraft is Gaofen-10; for sure it is imaging or remote sensing satellite but still nothing more was unveiled.
In spite of lack any precision data about Gaofen-10 we can assume that it will be satellite with optical observation devices or SAR radar onboard. It is hard to predict on which satellite bus it was built, but surely tomorrow some new details will be announced.
Sources:
Deino
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First CZ-7 assembled !
http://gbtimes.com/china/first-long-march-7-rocket-being-assembled-chinas-new-spaceport
http://gbtimes.com/china/first-long-march-7-rocket-being-assembled-chinas-new-spaceport
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Sweden joins China's historic mission to land on the far side of the Moon
China
China's space program
Sweden joins China's historic mission to land on the far side of the Moon
ANDREW JONES
2016/05/16
A view of the far side of the Moon and the distant Earth, captured by the service module for the 2014 Chang’e 5-T1 mission. (Photo: CAS)
TAGS:
If you’ve seen still images of Nasa's Apollo Moon landings then you’ve witnessed the work of modified Swedish Hasselblad cameras.
And Sweden’s presence is soon to be felt on the Moon once again, this time on another unprecedented journey - China’sChang’e-4 mission to the untouched lunar far side, which is never visible from Earth due to gravitational or tidal locking.
Following an agreement signed with the National Space Science Centre (NSSC) in Beijing, the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) in Kiruna in the country’s remote far north will provide one of the scientific payloads on the mission that will further our understanding of our celestial neighbour.
Above: Kiruna Space Campus (Image: Torbjörn Lövgren, IRF).
Chang'e-4 involves a lander and rover and is currently scheduled to launch in late 2018, once a relay satellite has been sent into a halo orbit around the Earth-Moon L2 Lagrange point in order to facilitate communication and control of the Chang'e-4 lander and rover on the Moon's far side.
The instrument, developed by Martin Wieser and colleagues in Kiruna, is the Advanced Small Analyzer for Neutrals (ASAN), a detector for energetic neutral atoms.
It will reveal how solar wind interacts with the lunar surface and perhaps even the process behind the formation of lunar water. An earlier version of the instrument flew on India’s Chandrayaan I orbiter which launched in 2008.
Above: The Advanced Small Analyzer for Neutrals (ASAN) instrument built by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) in Kiruna (Image: M. Wieser, IRF).
“In the mission with India we discovered that about 20 percent of this solar wind which hits the lunar surface is reflected back to space as the so-called energetic neutral atoms. That was completely unexpected: The lunar surface is very porous, so it was thought everything would be absorbed," Wieser explains.
"The physics of the reflection process at the surface are still a bit of a mystery...And that's where our interest comes from for trying to put a detector for such energetic neutral atoms directly onto the lunar surface."
This time, the detector will be on the mobile rover which take its instruments away from the contaminated blast area of touchdown and will explore an area of the fascinating South Pole-Aitken Basin.
The NSSC, operating under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) under Dr Wu Ji, will be responsible for integrating the payloads onto Chang'e-4, as it does for subsystems for space science missions and China's Shenzhou human spaceflight missions and Tiangong space labs.
Above: A colour-coded topographical map of the far side of the Moon showing the South Pole-Aitken Basin, with blue indicating lowest areas, red the highest (NASA).
Wieser says the sensor will allow scientists to see how solar winds interact with lunar regolith, as the material on lunar surface is called.
And it could give insights into the presence of one of the most interesting and useful compounds on the Moon, which could be harnessed by In-situ resource utilisation (IRSU) techniques for fuel for missions into deep space – water.
“[Solar wind] is one of the proposed mechanisms to produce water on the Moon,” Wieser says. “You have heard the stories that various missions discovered water on the lunar poles, and it's completely unclear so far which mechanism makes it”.
The lunar water present in the permanently shadowed craters at the Moon's poles is attracting a lot of attention, and is crucial to the viability of concepts for a lunar base, such as the Moon Village vision proposed by European Space Agency Director-General Johann-Dietrich Woerner.
Carrying out this detection on the far side is especially interesting for Wieser as it is far more exposed to solar winds than the near side. For a large part of the Moon's orbit around the Earth, the near side is either facing away from the Sun or within the Earth’s protective magnetosphere.
“So for us, the lunar far side is a very interesting place because that's where the action is,” Wieser explains.
'Monumental mission'
The lunar far side is more than a mere curiosity due to its isolation, but a scientifically intriguing area that was marked out as a priority for exploration in the National Research Council's planetary science Decadal Survey 2013-2022, which strongly influences the space science undertaken by the United States.
Ian Crawford, professor of planetary science and astrobiology at Birkbeck University of London, says the mission could have monumental significance.
“If China is successful in landing Chang'e 4 on the far side of the Moon, this will be an enormously significant event in the history of space exploration, in the exploration of the Moon, and a tremendous boost for lunar science,” Crawford says.
Zou Yongliao of CAS revealed at the 46th Lunar and Planetary Science in March that the landing site would be near the centre of the South Pole-Aitken Basin; a huge impact crater that could offer deep insights into the Moon’s interior and its formation.
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Yongliao: Chang'e 4 will land near center of south-pole Aitken basin, launching late 2018 or early 2019. #LPSC2016
12:57 AM - 23 Mar 2016
Crawford explains that the 2,500 kilometre diameter and roughly 13-kilometre-deep impact crater is an intriguing site, which could tell us more about the deep interior of the Moon than any other landing site so far.
“Both the age and the composition of the subsurface in the South Pole-Aitken basin are of interest. The basin is so deep that it’s certainly penetrating it down into the lower crust of the Moon, so far deeper than any near-side samples or measurements made.
“And it's possible that even parts of the lunar mantle might be exposed,” Professor Crawford adds.
Chang’e-4 is the now-repurposed backup to the Chang’e-3 mission that successfully put a lander and the Yutu (‘Jade Rabbit’) rover on the near side of the Moon in late 2013.
Above: China's Yutu ('Jade Rabbit') lunar rover on the Moon (CAS).
That mission carried a ground-penetrating radar and was one of the most exciting aspects of Chang’e-3, according to Crawford, and would be valuable on Chang’e-4, as it could increase our understanding of the structure of lunar regolith.
“I think by far the most interesting observations Chang’e-4 could make anywhere is the geochemical composition of the surface materials, the surface rocks and soils. This is done with instruments like X-ray florescent spectrometers or from alpha particle X-rays,” Crawford says.
It is not certain that the mission will include instruments such as an Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) as Chang’e-3 did, but Chang’e-4 is though is expected to carry cameras similar to those of Chang’e-3 which returned spectacular shots of the Moon.
It will also carry telescopes working on various frequencies which will take advantage of the ‘quiet’ provided by being outside of Earth’s ionosphere, and the shielding of the Moon from our planet’s electromagnetic interference.
More details on Chang'e-4's payloads and objectives are likely to be revealed at the European Luanr Symposium in the Netherlands later this week.
Lunar water
Another instrument confirmed for Chang’e-4 is the Lunar Lander Neutron Dosimetry (LND) project developed by Kiel University in Germany.
The experiment will measure radiation on the Moon in preparation for future manned missions and could also measure the water content of the ground beneath the landing unit.
This, together with the choice of Kiruna’s ASAN detector, suggests that water on the Moon is of great interest to China, hinting that the Chang’e-4 mission has an eye on future human exploration and utilisation of the Moon.
Beyond Chang’e-4, there are hopes that, if next year’s Chang’e-5 lunar sample return mission succeeds, its backup – Chang’e-6 – could attempt to retrieve samples from the far side. Such a mission would offer a much better opportunity to answer questions of lunar geology.
But what is certain is that a successful Chang’e-4 mission will be a major event, regardless of its makeup, Crawford says.
“Scientifically, it will be of great interest because the far side is different from the near side. And geopolitically, it will be a huge propaganda kill for China because they will be able to say quite correctly that no-one's done it before.
“And so just in the history of space exploration, it will be significant for that reason.”
http://gbtimes.com/china/sweden-joins-chinas-historic-mission-land-far-side-moon
China
China's space program
Sweden joins China's historic mission to land on the far side of the Moon
ANDREW JONES
2016/05/16
A view of the far side of the Moon and the distant Earth, captured by the service module for the 2014 Chang’e 5-T1 mission. (Photo: CAS)TAGS:
- China's space program
- Chang'e-4
- Sweden
- Far side of the Moon
- National Space Science Center
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Moon
- Chang'e-3
- Chang'e-5
- Chang’e-6
- Martin Wieser
- Wu Ji
- Johann-Dietrich Woerner
- Ian Crawford
- Zou Yongliao
If you’ve seen still images of Nasa's Apollo Moon landings then you’ve witnessed the work of modified Swedish Hasselblad cameras.
And Sweden’s presence is soon to be felt on the Moon once again, this time on another unprecedented journey - China’sChang’e-4 mission to the untouched lunar far side, which is never visible from Earth due to gravitational or tidal locking.
Following an agreement signed with the National Space Science Centre (NSSC) in Beijing, the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) in Kiruna in the country’s remote far north will provide one of the scientific payloads on the mission that will further our understanding of our celestial neighbour.
Above: Kiruna Space Campus (Image: Torbjörn Lövgren, IRF).
Chang'e-4 involves a lander and rover and is currently scheduled to launch in late 2018, once a relay satellite has been sent into a halo orbit around the Earth-Moon L2 Lagrange point in order to facilitate communication and control of the Chang'e-4 lander and rover on the Moon's far side.
The instrument, developed by Martin Wieser and colleagues in Kiruna, is the Advanced Small Analyzer for Neutrals (ASAN), a detector for energetic neutral atoms.
It will reveal how solar wind interacts with the lunar surface and perhaps even the process behind the formation of lunar water. An earlier version of the instrument flew on India’s Chandrayaan I orbiter which launched in 2008.
Above: The Advanced Small Analyzer for Neutrals (ASAN) instrument built by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) in Kiruna (Image: M. Wieser, IRF).
“In the mission with India we discovered that about 20 percent of this solar wind which hits the lunar surface is reflected back to space as the so-called energetic neutral atoms. That was completely unexpected: The lunar surface is very porous, so it was thought everything would be absorbed," Wieser explains.
"The physics of the reflection process at the surface are still a bit of a mystery...And that's where our interest comes from for trying to put a detector for such energetic neutral atoms directly onto the lunar surface."
This time, the detector will be on the mobile rover which take its instruments away from the contaminated blast area of touchdown and will explore an area of the fascinating South Pole-Aitken Basin.
The NSSC, operating under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) under Dr Wu Ji, will be responsible for integrating the payloads onto Chang'e-4, as it does for subsystems for space science missions and China's Shenzhou human spaceflight missions and Tiangong space labs.
Above: A colour-coded topographical map of the far side of the Moon showing the South Pole-Aitken Basin, with blue indicating lowest areas, red the highest (NASA).
Wieser says the sensor will allow scientists to see how solar winds interact with lunar regolith, as the material on lunar surface is called.
And it could give insights into the presence of one of the most interesting and useful compounds on the Moon, which could be harnessed by In-situ resource utilisation (IRSU) techniques for fuel for missions into deep space – water.
“[Solar wind] is one of the proposed mechanisms to produce water on the Moon,” Wieser says. “You have heard the stories that various missions discovered water on the lunar poles, and it's completely unclear so far which mechanism makes it”.
The lunar water present in the permanently shadowed craters at the Moon's poles is attracting a lot of attention, and is crucial to the viability of concepts for a lunar base, such as the Moon Village vision proposed by European Space Agency Director-General Johann-Dietrich Woerner.
Carrying out this detection on the far side is especially interesting for Wieser as it is far more exposed to solar winds than the near side. For a large part of the Moon's orbit around the Earth, the near side is either facing away from the Sun or within the Earth’s protective magnetosphere.
“So for us, the lunar far side is a very interesting place because that's where the action is,” Wieser explains.
'Monumental mission'
The lunar far side is more than a mere curiosity due to its isolation, but a scientifically intriguing area that was marked out as a priority for exploration in the National Research Council's planetary science Decadal Survey 2013-2022, which strongly influences the space science undertaken by the United States.
Ian Crawford, professor of planetary science and astrobiology at Birkbeck University of London, says the mission could have monumental significance.
“If China is successful in landing Chang'e 4 on the far side of the Moon, this will be an enormously significant event in the history of space exploration, in the exploration of the Moon, and a tremendous boost for lunar science,” Crawford says.
Zou Yongliao of CAS revealed at the 46th Lunar and Planetary Science in March that the landing site would be near the centre of the South Pole-Aitken Basin; a huge impact crater that could offer deep insights into the Moon’s interior and its formation.
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Emily Lakdawalla @elakdawallaYongliao: Chang'e 4 will land near center of south-pole Aitken basin, launching late 2018 or early 2019. #LPSC2016
12:57 AM - 23 Mar 2016
Crawford explains that the 2,500 kilometre diameter and roughly 13-kilometre-deep impact crater is an intriguing site, which could tell us more about the deep interior of the Moon than any other landing site so far.
“Both the age and the composition of the subsurface in the South Pole-Aitken basin are of interest. The basin is so deep that it’s certainly penetrating it down into the lower crust of the Moon, so far deeper than any near-side samples or measurements made.
“And it's possible that even parts of the lunar mantle might be exposed,” Professor Crawford adds.
Chang’e-4 is the now-repurposed backup to the Chang’e-3 mission that successfully put a lander and the Yutu (‘Jade Rabbit’) rover on the near side of the Moon in late 2013.
Above: China's Yutu ('Jade Rabbit') lunar rover on the Moon (CAS).
That mission carried a ground-penetrating radar and was one of the most exciting aspects of Chang’e-3, according to Crawford, and would be valuable on Chang’e-4, as it could increase our understanding of the structure of lunar regolith.
“I think by far the most interesting observations Chang’e-4 could make anywhere is the geochemical composition of the surface materials, the surface rocks and soils. This is done with instruments like X-ray florescent spectrometers or from alpha particle X-rays,” Crawford says.
It is not certain that the mission will include instruments such as an Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) as Chang’e-3 did, but Chang’e-4 is though is expected to carry cameras similar to those of Chang’e-3 which returned spectacular shots of the Moon.
It will also carry telescopes working on various frequencies which will take advantage of the ‘quiet’ provided by being outside of Earth’s ionosphere, and the shielding of the Moon from our planet’s electromagnetic interference.
More details on Chang'e-4's payloads and objectives are likely to be revealed at the European Luanr Symposium in the Netherlands later this week.
Lunar water
Another instrument confirmed for Chang’e-4 is the Lunar Lander Neutron Dosimetry (LND) project developed by Kiel University in Germany.
The experiment will measure radiation on the Moon in preparation for future manned missions and could also measure the water content of the ground beneath the landing unit.
This, together with the choice of Kiruna’s ASAN detector, suggests that water on the Moon is of great interest to China, hinting that the Chang’e-4 mission has an eye on future human exploration and utilisation of the Moon.
Beyond Chang’e-4, there are hopes that, if next year’s Chang’e-5 lunar sample return mission succeeds, its backup – Chang’e-6 – could attempt to retrieve samples from the far side. Such a mission would offer a much better opportunity to answer questions of lunar geology.
But what is certain is that a successful Chang’e-4 mission will be a major event, regardless of its makeup, Crawford says.
“Scientifically, it will be of great interest because the far side is different from the near side. And geopolitically, it will be a huge propaganda kill for China because they will be able to say quite correctly that no-one's done it before.
“And so just in the history of space exploration, it will be significant for that reason.”
http://gbtimes.com/china/sweden-joins-chinas-historic-mission-land-far-side-moon
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Beidou promotion targets Arab states
By Zhao Lei (China Daily) | Updated: 2016-05-20 08:09
A Long March 3C cargo rocket lifts off in Xichang, Sichuan province, on Feb 2 to carry a Beidou navigation satellite into orbit. [Photo/Xinhua]
China will strive to promote its Beidou Navigation Satellite System in Arab states, according to a senior official with the Beidou program.
The country is in talks with several Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, to help them introduce Beidou-based positioning and navigational services, said Ran Chengqi, director of the China Satellite Navigation Office.
"We will open cooperation with them in terms of technological exchanges, personnel training and promotion of Beidou-based applications," he said on the sidelines of the Seventh China Satellite Navigation Conference, which opened in Changsha on Wednesday.
"The countries involved have expressed an interest in the use of our satellite navigation services," he added.
In a speech at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo in January, President Xi Jinping said China and the League had agreed to introduce the Beidou system to Arab states. He added that the two sides would hold a China-Arab States Beidou Cooperation Forum.
Ma Jiaqing, deputy director of the China Satellite Navigation Office, said last week that tests in Doha, capital of the Gulf state of Qatar, showed local ground facilities could receive signals from up to eight Beidou satellites.
This means the Beidou system is able to independently provide positioning, navigational and timing services to local users, and its accuracy is as good as other space-based navigational systems, he said.
Ma made the comments at the seventh ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Doha.
The First China-Arab States Beidou Cooperation Forum is due to be held next year.
According to the China Satellite Navigation Office, one of the forum's main goals will be to enable Arab states to better understand the Beidou system and its achievements.
It will also promote Beidou-based applications in a number of civilian sectors in the Arab world such as the mining and oil industries, agriculture, traffic management and urban administration.
China launched the first Beidou satellite in 2000. It began providing positioning, navigational, timing and short-messaging services to civilian users in China and surrounding areas in the Asia-Pacific region in December 2012.
The country has launched 22 satellites for the system and plans to launch about 30 more by the end of 2020.
The government plans for the Beidou system to comprise 35 functioning satellites by 2020, five of which will be in geostationary orbit－a circular orbit more than 35,780 kilometers above the equator and following the direction of the Earth's rotation.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2016-05/20/content_25380806.htm
By Zhao Lei (China Daily) | Updated: 2016-05-20 08:09
A Long March 3C cargo rocket lifts off in Xichang, Sichuan province, on Feb 2 to carry a Beidou navigation satellite into orbit. [Photo/Xinhua]
China will strive to promote its Beidou Navigation Satellite System in Arab states, according to a senior official with the Beidou program.
The country is in talks with several Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, to help them introduce Beidou-based positioning and navigational services, said Ran Chengqi, director of the China Satellite Navigation Office.
"We will open cooperation with them in terms of technological exchanges, personnel training and promotion of Beidou-based applications," he said on the sidelines of the Seventh China Satellite Navigation Conference, which opened in Changsha on Wednesday.
"The countries involved have expressed an interest in the use of our satellite navigation services," he added.
In a speech at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo in January, President Xi Jinping said China and the League had agreed to introduce the Beidou system to Arab states. He added that the two sides would hold a China-Arab States Beidou Cooperation Forum.
Ma Jiaqing, deputy director of the China Satellite Navigation Office, said last week that tests in Doha, capital of the Gulf state of Qatar, showed local ground facilities could receive signals from up to eight Beidou satellites.
This means the Beidou system is able to independently provide positioning, navigational and timing services to local users, and its accuracy is as good as other space-based navigational systems, he said.
Ma made the comments at the seventh ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Doha.
The First China-Arab States Beidou Cooperation Forum is due to be held next year.
According to the China Satellite Navigation Office, one of the forum's main goals will be to enable Arab states to better understand the Beidou system and its achievements.
It will also promote Beidou-based applications in a number of civilian sectors in the Arab world such as the mining and oil industries, agriculture, traffic management and urban administration.
China launched the first Beidou satellite in 2000. It began providing positioning, navigational, timing and short-messaging services to civilian users in China and surrounding areas in the Asia-Pacific region in December 2012.
The country has launched 22 satellites for the system and plans to launch about 30 more by the end of 2020.
The government plans for the Beidou system to comprise 35 functioning satellites by 2020, five of which will be in geostationary orbit－a circular orbit more than 35,780 kilometers above the equator and following the direction of the Earth's rotation.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2016-05/20/content_25380806.htm
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