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Long March 4C launches Gaofen-3 Earth Observation Satellite

August 9, 2016 by Rui C. Barbosa

Z2GFSGSD-350x139.jpg


The long awaited launch of Gaofen-3 took place on Tuesday, lofted via the Chinese Long March-4C (Chang Zheng-4C) launch vehicle. The rocket, launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center’s LC9 Launch Complex at 22:55 UTC, successfully orbited the new addition to the Gaofen fleet of remote sensing satellites.

Chinese Launch:

Designed by CAST (China Academy of Space Technology), Gaofen-3 employs the CS-L3000B bus configured with multi-polarized C-band SAR at meter-level resolution.

The new satellite has a designed lifespan of eight years and will mainly be used by the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) of China.

Development of the new satellite was initiated in December 2010, with the engineering development beginning in September 2013. The satellite was completed in March 2016.

2015-12-28-122418-350x231.jpg


Gaofen (meaning “High Resolution”) is a series of civilian Earth observation satellites developed and launched for the state-sponsored program known as the China High-definition Earth Observation System (CHEOS).

In May 2010, China officially initiated the development of the CHEOS system, which is established as one of the major national science and technology projects.

The Earth Observation System and Data Center of China National Space Administration (EOSDC-CNSA) is responsible for organizing the construction of the CHEOS that is a near-real time, all-weather, global surveillance network consisting of satellite, stratosphere airships, and aerial observation platforms.

2015-12-28-160731-350x251.jpg


The Earth Observation System and Data Center, China National Space Administration was established in March 2010. The Center is principally responsible for organizing and implementing as well as managing CHEOS. It is also responsible for EO application services, commercial development, technology consultant and international cooperation.

By following an arrangement of integral observation from space, air and ground, the CHEOS develops a space-based system, near space system, aerial system, ground system and application system as a whole to materialize earth observation at high temporal, spatial and spectral resolution, which is now in smooth progress.

Overall, to meet the strategic demands of the national economic development and social progress. The initial plan presented five satellites.

Gaofen-1 uses a CAST2000 bus, configured with one 2 meter panchromatic, an 8 meter multi-spectral camera and one 16m multispectral medium-resolution and wide-view camera. The satellite realizes an integration of imaging capacity at medium and high spatial resolution and with large swath, with designed lifespan of over 5 years. It was launched on April 26, 2013.

Gaofen-2 employs the CS-L3000A bus, configured with one 1 meter panchromatic/4m multi-spectral camera, with designed lifespan of over 5 years. The satellite was launched on August 19, 2014.

2016-08-09-221919-350x239.jpg


Gaofen-4 was developed by CAST and is based on the new GEO remote-sensing satellite bus. It has orbital mass of 4,600 kg and was designed for a life span of 8 years. The satellite was placed into orbit by a Long March-3B launch vehicle from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre on 29 December, 2015.

The future spacecraft, Gaofen-5, sports a SAST5000B bus and is configured with six types of payloads, including visible and short-wave infra hyper-spectral camera, spectral imager, greenhouse gas detector, atmospheric environment infrared detector at very high spectral resolution, differential absorption spectrometer for atmospheric trace gas, and multi-angle polarization detector.

It is designed for 8 years and is scheduled to launch in 2017.

On June 26, 2015, China launched the Gaofen-8 satellite. Developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the satellite is part of a civilian program whose aim is to facilitate climate surveying, disaster response, precision agriculture mapping, urban planning and road network design.

Its imagery will be mostly used by the Ministry of Land and Resources, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the Ministry of Agriculture. The satellite was launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center using a Long March-4B rocket.

On September 14, 2015, another Gaofen satellite, Gaofen-9, was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, using a Long March-2D. Possibly a civilian version of the Yaogan Weixing-2 (Jianbing-6) satellite, Gaofen-9 will provide sub-meter class resolution optical images for city planning, road network design, land ownership determination etc. purposes.

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/08/long-march-4c-launches-gaofen-3/
 
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Long March 4C launches Gaofen-3 Earth Observation Satellite

August 9, 2016 by Rui C. Barbosa

Z2GFSGSD-350x139.jpg


The long awaited launch of Gaofen-3 took place on Tuesday, lofted via the Chinese Long March-4C (Chang Zheng-4C) launch vehicle. The rocket, launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center’s LC9 Launch Complex at 22:55 UTC, successfully orbited the new addition to the Gaofen fleet of remote sensing satellites.

Chinese Launch:

Designed by CAST (China Academy of Space Technology), Gaofen-3 employs the CS-L3000B bus configured with multi-polarized C-band SAR at meter-level resolution.

The new satellite has a designed lifespan of eight years and will mainly be used by the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) of China.

Development of the new satellite was initiated in December 2010, with the engineering development beginning in September 2013. The satellite was completed in March 2016.

2015-12-28-122418-350x231.jpg


Gaofen (meaning “High Resolution”) is a series of civilian Earth observation satellites developed and launched for the state-sponsored program known as the China High-definition Earth Observation System (CHEOS).

In May 2010, China officially initiated the development of the CHEOS system, which is established as one of the major national science and technology projects.

The Earth Observation System and Data Center of China National Space Administration (EOSDC-CNSA) is responsible for organizing the construction of the CHEOS that is a near-real time, all-weather, global surveillance network consisting of satellite, stratosphere airships, and aerial observation platforms.

2015-12-28-160731-350x251.jpg


The Earth Observation System and Data Center, China National Space Administration was established in March 2010. The Center is principally responsible for organizing and implementing as well as managing CHEOS. It is also responsible for EO application services, commercial development, technology consultant and international cooperation.

By following an arrangement of integral observation from space, air and ground, the CHEOS develops a space-based system, near space system, aerial system, ground system and application system as a whole to materialize earth observation at high temporal, spatial and spectral resolution, which is now in smooth progress.

Overall, to meet the strategic demands of the national economic development and social progress. The initial plan presented five satellites.

Gaofen-1 uses a CAST2000 bus, configured with one 2 meter panchromatic, an 8 meter multi-spectral camera and one 16m multispectral medium-resolution and wide-view camera. The satellite realizes an integration of imaging capacity at medium and high spatial resolution and with large swath, with designed lifespan of over 5 years. It was launched on April 26, 2013.

Gaofen-2 employs the CS-L3000A bus, configured with one 1 meter panchromatic/4m multi-spectral camera, with designed lifespan of over 5 years. The satellite was launched on August 19, 2014.

2016-08-09-221919-350x239.jpg


Gaofen-4 was developed by CAST and is based on the new GEO remote-sensing satellite bus. It has orbital mass of 4,600 kg and was designed for a life span of 8 years. The satellite was placed into orbit by a Long March-3B launch vehicle from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre on 29 December, 2015.

The future spacecraft, Gaofen-5, sports a SAST5000B bus and is configured with six types of payloads, including visible and short-wave infra hyper-spectral camera, spectral imager, greenhouse gas detector, atmospheric environment infrared detector at very high spectral resolution, differential absorption spectrometer for atmospheric trace gas, and multi-angle polarization detector.

It is designed for 8 years and is scheduled to launch in 2017.

On June 26, 2015, China launched the Gaofen-8 satellite. Developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the satellite is part of a civilian program whose aim is to facilitate climate surveying, disaster response, precision agriculture mapping, urban planning and road network design.

Its imagery will be mostly used by the Ministry of Land and Resources, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the Ministry of Agriculture. The satellite was launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center using a Long March-4B rocket.

On September 14, 2015, another Gaofen satellite, Gaofen-9, was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, using a Long March-2D. Possibly a civilian version of the Yaogan Weixing-2 (Jianbing-6) satellite, Gaofen-9 will provide sub-meter class resolution optical images for city planning, road network design, land ownership determination etc. purposes.

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/08/long-march-4c-launches-gaofen-3/


SAR Earth Observation Satellite with 1-m resolution! China's 11th space launch this year. Good going!
 
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So it turns out China's Yutu Moon rover could still be alive
Andrew Jones
2016/08/10

China's Jade Rabbit rover was the first such mission to the Moon since the 1970s, and has contributed to scientific discoveries and top quality images of the Moon.

So when it was reported last week that the lunar rover had bitten the lunar dust, the news was understandably widely covered and received with sadness.

However, those reports may turn out to be premature.

News of the demise of Yutu, as it is named in Chinese, began on July 31 with the appearance of a widely-shared 'farewell' post from the rover's official account on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media platform.
yutu-rover-weibo-farewell-31072016.png


It was then seemingly confirmed by Chinese state media such as People's Daily (Chinese) that Jade Rabbit had ceased operating at the start of its 33rd lunar night, some 972 days after launch on December 2, 2013.

The reports cited a source at the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND), which oversees the country's space activities.

This in turn resulted in a slew of articles in Western media reporting the death of Yutu, with the assumption that the rover had failed some time after the start of the latest lunar night, when temperatures sink as low as minus 180 degrees Celsius.



Con't reading -> So it turns out China's Yutu Moon rover could still be alive | gbtimes.com
 
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So it turns out China's Yutu Moon rover could still be alive
Andrew Jones
2016/08/10

China's Jade Rabbit rover was the first such mission to the Moon since the 1970s, and has contributed to scientific discoveries and top quality images of the Moon.

So when it was reported last week that the lunar rover had bitten the lunar dust, the news was understandably widely covered and received with sadness.

However, those reports may turn out to be premature.

News of the demise of Yutu, as it is named in Chinese, began on July 31 with the appearance of a widely-shared 'farewell' post from the rover's official account on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media platform.
yutu-rover-weibo-farewell-31072016.png


It was then seemingly confirmed by Chinese state media such as People's Daily (Chinese) that Jade Rabbit had ceased operating at the start of its 33rd lunar night, some 972 days after launch on December 2, 2013.

The reports cited a source at the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND), which oversees the country's space activities.

This in turn resulted in a slew of articles in Western media reporting the death of Yutu, with the assumption that the rover had failed some time after the start of the latest lunar night, when temperatures sink as low as minus 180 degrees Celsius.



Con't reading -> So it turns out China's Yutu Moon rover could still be alive | gbtimes.com


“It seems that Yutu is currently more retired than deceased, and could yet wake up, with its plutonium heaters apparently protecting its internal electronics during hibernation.”



Best wish to Yutu! :china:
 
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NOTAMs for this launch Quantum Science Satellite - CZ-2D - Jiuquan - August 15, 2016 (~17:40 UTC)

A2051/16 - A TEMPORARY RESTRICTED AREA ESTABLISHED BOUNDED BY: N332411E0981616-N332859E0975104-N342143E0980517-N341655E0983043 BACK TO START. VERTICAL LIMITS:GND-UNL. GND - UNL, 15 AUG 17:33 2016 UNTIL 15 AUG 18:06 2016. CREATED: 12 AUG 06:23 2016

A2050/16 - A TEMPORARY RESTRICTED AREA ESTABLISHED BOUNDED BY: N351710E0984540-N352046E0982620-N354948E0983423-N354456E0990018
BACK TO START.VERTICAL LIMITS:GND-UNL. GND - UNL, 15 AUG 17:33 2016 UNTIL 15 AUG 18:00 2016.
CREATED: 12 AUG 06:21 2016
 
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NOTAMs for this launch Quantum Science Satellite - CZ-2D - Jiuquan - August 15, 2016 (~17:40 UTC)

A2051/16 - A TEMPORARY RESTRICTED AREA ESTABLISHED BOUNDED BY: N332411E0981616-N332859E0975104-N342143E0980517-N341655E0983043 BACK TO START. VERTICAL LIMITS:GND-UNL. GND - UNL, 15 AUG 17:33 2016 UNTIL 15 AUG 18:06 2016. CREATED: 12 AUG 06:23 2016

A2050/16 - A TEMPORARY RESTRICTED AREA ESTABLISHED BOUNDED BY: N351710E0984540-N352046E0982620-N354948E0983423-N354456E0990018
BACK TO START.VERTICAL LIMITS:GND-UNL. GND - UNL, 15 AUG 17:33 2016 UNTIL 15 AUG 18:00 2016.
CREATED: 12 AUG 06:21 2016


This one deserves its own thread. This is the other World's First from China.
 
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China Exclusive: Chinese scientists a step closer to studying Einstein's confusion
Source: Xinhua 2016-08-13 10:07:41
By Xinhua writers Yang Chunxue and Yu Fei

BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Amid the intense preparations for the launch of China's first quantum communication satellite, scientists hope it can help unravel one of the strangest phenomena in quantum physics -- quantum entanglement.

By beaming individual entangled photons between space and ground stations, the satellite should be able to test whether the quantum's entanglement property extends over the record-breaking distance.

"We have the technology to produce pairs of entangled photons on the satellite," said Pan Jianwei, academician of Chinese Academy of Science and chief scientist of Chinese quantum communication satellite project.

One photon of an entangled pair will be beamed to a station in Delingha, northwest China's Qinghai Province, and the other to a station in Lijiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, or in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China. The distance between the two ground stations is about 1,200 kilometers.

"SPOOKY ACTION"

Quantum physics is the study of the basic building blocks of the world at a scale smaller than atoms. These tiny particles behave in a way that could overturn assumptions of how the world works.

One of the strange properties of quantum physics is that a tiny particle acts as if it's simultaneously in two locations -- a phenomenon known as "superposition." The noted interpretation is the thought experiment of Schrodinger's cat -- a scenario that presents a cat that may be simultaneously both alive and dead.

If that doesn't sound strange enough, quantum physics has another phenomenon that so confounded Albert Einstein that he described as "spooky action at a distance" in 1948.

Scientists found that when two entangled particles are separated, one particle can somehow affect the action of the far-off twin at a speed faster than light.

Scientists liken it to two pieces of paper that are distant from each other; if you write on one, the other immediately shows your message.

In the quantum entanglement theory, this bizarre connection can happen even when the two particles are separated by the galaxy.

SKY IS NOT THE LIMIT

The mystery of quantum entanglement has been puzzling scientists since it was detected.

"If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don't understand quantum mechanics," said Richard Feynman, the late Nobel physics laureate.

Nobel Prize winner Murray Gell-Mann has described quantum mechanics as "that mysterious, confusing discipline, which none of us really understands, but which we know how to use."

Pan and other scientists desperately want to understand the mystery.

To his delight, the quantum communication satellite project he's leading might soon reveal the secret.

If you want to explore new physics, you must push the limits, Pan said in an interview with scientific journal Nature in January.

Pan believes that quantum entanglement exists over any distance in principle, but he wants to see if there's some physical limit with the help of the satellite.

"People ask if there's some sort of boundary between the classical world and the quantum world: we hope to build some sort of macroscopic system in which we can show that quantum phenomena can still exist," he said.

Pan also revealed that they also want to see if it's possible to distribute entanglement between the Earth and the Moon in future.
 
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