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NEWS RELEASE 27-AUG-2020
Improving weather forecasts with observations from the microwave instruments onboard China's FY-3D satellite

INSTITUTE OF ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

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Illustration of FY-3D MWRI observations at 89 GHz on 25 July 2019.
CREDIT: Fabien Carminati


China's FengYun-3 (FY-3) satellite programme is an important part of the Earth observing system and provides observations for numerical weather prediction (NWP), reanalyses, and climate studies. The latest platform in the programme, FY-3D, carries the Microwave Temperature Sounder 2 (MWTS-2), the Microwave Humidity Sounder 2 (MWHS-2), and the Microwave Radiation Imager (MWRI). Together, these instruments have radiometric capability spanning the microwave domain from 10 to 183 GHz and provide valuable information on surface and atmospheric temperature, humidity, and wind.

Data quality assessment is a fundamental step that leads to the optimal use of a new instrument, helps NWP centres define assimilation strategies, and guides the climate community in the generation of climate data records. In a new study published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, Dr Fabien Carminati of the UK Met Office and his colleagues build upon the maturity and experience gained from the assessment of previous platforms from the FY-3 programme to evaluate the instruments onboard FY-3D and to support China in generating high-quality satellite data for a wide range of weather and climate applications. The analysis shows that the data quality of all three instruments has improved with respect to the instruments onboard FY-3C and generally compares well to that of reference U.S. instruments. The assimilation of FY-3D microwave observations in the Met Office NWP system has a positive impact, reducing the error of global weather forecasts by a small but significant 0.1% on average.

Observations from FY-3D microwave instruments not only benefit both the NWP and climate communities by complementing the current observing system but also ensure the continuity of Earth observations between FY-3C and FY-3E. The assimilation of microwave observations at the Met Office and other NWP centres leads to improved weather forecasts, better resilience to extreme weather events, and more accurate climate predictions and monitoring. This also has the potential to improve downstream activities in sectors as varied as economics, agriculture, or energy, and provide a firmer basis for management and decision making.



Improving weather forecasts with observations from the microwave instruments onboard China's FY-3D satellite | EurekAlert! Science News
 
New export controls won't have big impact on BDS services: insider
By Chu Daye Source: Global Times Published: 2020/9/1 20:18:40

6125281a-de44-421c-a233-e42fc133c096.jpeg
File photo of a model of the Beidou Satellite Navigation System.Photo:Xinhua

China's efforts to better protect some of its most advanced technologies, through the means of a newly updated export control catalogue published on Friday, will not slow down global use of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), an industry insider told the Global Times on Tuesday.

China on Friday added 23 cutting-edge technologies to a list of restricted export items ranging from vegetable breeding and metal 3D printing to advanced drilling tools and software used in oil and gas extraction, strengthening the regulatory foundation for technology export controls in relation to countries and regions that are hostile to China.

Messaging transmission encryption technology used by the BDS is on the list. The BDS is China's largest space-based system and one of four global navigation networks, alongside the US' GPS, Russia's GLONASS and the EU's Galileo.

However, Wang Bo, a satellite navigation system expert with the Beijing Institute of Technology, said the newly updated catalogue will have little impact on the BDS' civilian use in the global market, as the restricted technology is primarily focused on military use.

"The encryption technology is for military use, and this sector should naturally be included in the catalogue. But signals for civilian use are always open to the public, and foreign companies can download them online," Wang told the Global Times. "We welcome more foreign companies to use it. The more, the better."

Since the catalogue was drawn up to protect China's technology and economic security, it makes sense to list technologies associated with the BDS. When the last version of the catalogue was drawn up in 2008, the BDS was still at the fledging stage, Wang said.

The BDS provides global users with basic navigation, global short message communication, and international search and rescue services. The system's services cover more than 200 countries and regions, with more than 100 million users and 200 million daily services.

More foreign companies are beginning to roll out devices that are compatible with BeiDou navigation as the system began to roll out full global services this year.

Japanese consumer electronics firm Sony launched a global navigation satellite systems chip that supports the BDS on August 19, the company said in a press release sent to the Global Times.
 
10:45, 03-Aug-2020
Official: BeiDou system products exported to over 120 countries and regions
CGTN

Products linked to the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) have been exported to over 120 countries and regions, according to an official.

All key parts of the system are 100 percent domestically built, and China has mastered 160 core technologies including inter-satellite links and high-precision atomic clocks, said BDS spokesperson Ran Chengqi at a press conference.

The 28-nanometer Beidou multi-mode chip has gone into mass production and its 22 nm chip will be mass-produced soon, Ran told reporters. Most smartphones support BeiDou's functions, he added.

People's Daily, China @PDChina
China state-affiliated media

A 22-nanometer chip, the latest generation of China's BeiDou high-precision positioning chip, was recently unveiled in Beijing. The chip that can achieve 1-cm accuracy for real-time positioning will be officially delivered by the end of 2020 and put into mass production in 2021.

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1:30 PM · Sep 3, 2020
 
People's Daily, China @PDChina
China state-affiliated media

A 22-nanometer chip, the latest generation of China's BeiDou high-precision positioning chip, was recently unveiled in Beijing. The chip that can achieve 1-cm accuracy for real-time positioning will be officially delivered by the end of 2020 and put into mass production in 2021.

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1:30 PM · Sep 3, 2020
" The chip that can achieve 1-cm accuracy for real-time positioning... "

What does this mean?

Does it mean if my gadget (possibly a smartphone or a BDS terminal) one day uses this chip then it can possibly achieve a positioning accuracy of about one centimeter?
 
" The chip that can achieve 1-cm accuracy for real-time positioning... "

What does this mean?

Does it mean if my gadget (possibly a smartphone or a BDS terminal) one day uses this chip then it can possibly achieve a positioning accuracy of about one centimeter?
The chip is meant for high-precision positioning demand application areas such as surveying and mapping, drones, autonomous driving, deformation monitoring and robotics according to the news below.

The project manager said it can have real-time 1 cm precision and even 1 mm with post processing. He talk about fast processing and memories capability of the chip. Therefore I think it is done with lots of processing hence the needs for 22nm. He said that previously an external processing and augmentation system needed but no longer, but he did not specifically said that no augmentation system is used.

 
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我国成功发射可重复使用试验航天器
新华社酒泉9月4日电(李国利、赵金龙)记者从有关部门获悉,我国4日在酒泉卫星发射中心,利用长征二号F运载火箭,成功发射一型可重复使用的试验航天器。

试验航天器将在轨运行一段时间后,返回国内预定着陆场,期间,将按计划开展可重复使用技术验证,为和平利用太空提供技术支撑。

这是长征二号F运载火箭第14次执行发射任务。

China successfully launched a reusable test spacecraft

Xinhua News Agency, Jiuquan, September 4 (Li Guoli, Zhao Jinlong) The reporter learned from relevant departments that our country successfully launched a reusable test spacecraft at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the 4th, using the Long March 2F carrier rocket.

The test spacecraft will be in orbit for a period of time before returning to the domestic designated landing site. During this period, it will carry out reusable technology verification as planned in-order to provide technical support for the peaceful use of space.

This is the 14th launch mission of the Long March 2 F carrier rocket.
 
↑ ↑ ↑


China successfully launched a reusable test spacecraft

Xinhua News Agency, Jiuquan, September 4 (Li Guoli, Zhao Jinlong) The reporter learned from relevant departments that our country successfully launched a reusable test spacecraft at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the 4th, using the Long March 2F carrier rocket.

The test spacecraft will be in orbit for a period of time before returning to the domestic designated landing site. During this period, it will carry out reusable technology verification as planned in-order to provide technical support for the peaceful use of space.

This is the 14th launch mission of the Long March 2 F carrier rocket.
SOME BACKGROUND INFO: here's a great mapping of Chinese SPACECRAFT / SPACEPLANE projects from JEAN DEVILLE, a French aviation & space enthusiast, and passionate China watcher.

China’s Spaceplane Projects: Past, Present and Future – The China Aerospace Blog

This article is the second and final part of a two-piece blog post by China Aerospace Blog on Chinese SPACEPLANES. The first part discussed China’s historical approach to REUSABILITY, and more specifically to SPACEPLANES. This part extends the discussion by reviewing current Chinese SPACEPLANE projects, and provides a map.

Below is a map of all Chinese spaceplane projects, including abandoned projects and ones currently under development. Both private and state-owned company initiatives were examined, as well as unconfirmed secret programs.


 
“Orbit of Chinese OTV compared to the orbit of X-37B”

From Oedosoldier on 2020.09.04:

China version X-37B launched today by CZ-2F rocket, officially called "reusable test spacecraft"

China version of X-37B launched today 20200904 by CZ-2F rocket, officially called 'reusable te...jpg



The space flight path of CZ-2F :

CZ-2F Space Flight 20200904.jpg


Then some may ask, what's the X-37B? Here's a brief from Space.com

USAF X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle 4 20170507.png


X-37B: The Air Force's Mysterious Space Plane

By Mike Wall - May 15, 2020 | Space.com

The Boeing X-37B is a U.S. Air Force's mysterious space plane.
The U.S. Air Force's unmanned X-37B space plane has flown four clandestine missions to date, carrying secret payloads on long-duration flights in Earth orbit. The robotic vehicle resembles NASA's famous space shuttle but is much smaller. The X-37B is about 8.8 meters long and 2.9 m tall, with a wingspan just less than 4.6 meters. At launch, it weighs 4,990 kilograms.

The X-37B's payload bay (the area in which the cargo is packed) measures 2.1 by 1.2 meters — about the size of a pickup truck bed. Just what the X-37B carries in there is unclear, however. Air Force officials generally comment only on the overall goals of the program, stressing that each payload is classified.

"The primary objectives of the X-37B are twofold: reusable spacecraft technologies for the U.S.'s future in space and operating experiments which can be returned to, and examined, on Earth," states an X-37B fact sheet produced by the Air Force. Like the space shuttle, the solar-powered X-37B space plane launches vertically, with the aid of a rocket, and cruises back to Earth for a runway landing. The diminutive space plane is designed to operate at altitudes ranging from 177 to 805 km.

(...)

Space weapon?

The secrecy surrounding the X-37B and its payloads has spawned rumors that the vehicle could be a space weapon of some sort, perhaps tasked with capturing or damaging other nations' satellites.

But the space plane is likely too small and not maneuverable enough for such work, experts say. Instead, its chief mission is likely what Air Force officials have claimed all along: to test out new sensors and other next-generation satellite technologies, to see how they perform and hold up in the space environment.

"I absolutely think that's the primary mission," former Air Force orbital analyst Brian Weeden, who now works as a technical adviser for the nonprofit Secure World Foundation, told Space.com just before the launch of OTV-2.

Various other aspects of the X-37B's design would make it a less-than-ideal space weapon, he added — including the craft's shuttle-style runway landings, which leave it vulnerable to attack by hostile forces.

"It can be tracked, so it's going to be hard for it to sneak up on anything," Weeden said. "And when it comes down itself, it's a very ungainly, slow-moving glider."

X-37B Military Spaceplane.jpg



A Brief History of the X-37B

The X-37 program started in 1999 with NASA, which initially planned to construct two vehicles: an Approach and Landing Test Vehicle (ALTV) and an Orbital Vehicle. NASA transferred the project to the U.S. military in 2004 — specifically, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). At that point, X-37 became a classified project.

DARPA finished the ALTV part of the program in 2006, conducting a series of captive-carry and free-flight tests. NASA's envisioned Orbital Vehicle was never built, but it served as the inspiration for the space plane that came to be called the X-37B. The X-37B program is now run by the Air Force's Rapid Capabilities Office, with mission control for orbital flights based at the 3rd Space Experimentation Squadron at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado. The space planes are built by Boeing's Phantom Works division.

(...)
 
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China successfully launches reusable test spacecraft - cnTechPost
2020-09-04 17:28:03 GMT+8 | cnTechPost

China successfully launches reusable test spacecraft-cnTechPost

China today successfully launched a reusable test spacecraft at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Xinhua News Agency reported today.

The launch was carried out by the Long March-2 F launch vehicle, the 14th mission of the rocket.

The test spacecraft is expected to remain in orbit for a period of time and return to its scheduled landing site in China after completing its mission.

It will verify the viability of the spacecraft's reusable technology, the report said.

In October 2017, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation said it was working with agencies within China to develop a reusable vehicle, with the first flight planned for around 2020.

The ultimate goal is not only to reduce the cost of transporting a unit of payload to one-tenth the cost of existing disposable launch vehicles, but also to dramatically shorten the launch preparation time and hopefully make it possible to make flights to and from the vehicle like an airplane.

Chen Hongbo, director of the research and development center at China Aerospace's First Research Institute, said at the time that China's reusable launch vehicle had the characteristics of both a spacecraft and an air vehicle.

Compared with traditional disposable rockets, China is building on its current rocket engines and improving them through technology to make them reusable, he said.

Reusable air vehicles currently in use can be divided into partially reusable and fully reusable.

China is promoting a "reusable" space program, and plans to implement low-cost space development in a three-step approach.

Firstly, the rocket power part can be reused; secondly, on the basis of the former, a reusable space plane can be carried; and finally, a combined-powered vehicle, a vehicle that integrates turbine engines, ram engines, rocket engines and other power sources.

This is an innovative step for China's space industry. It's no longer a secret that other countries around the world, such as the United States, have reusable spacecraft.

The SpaceX already completed the first test of its Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 launch vehicle on June 3, 2017.
 
我国可重复使用试验航天器成功着陆
2020-09-06 10:48:24 来源: 新华网

新华社酒泉9月6日电(李国利、赵金龙)我国在酒泉卫星发射中心成功发射的可重复使用航天器,在轨飞行2天后,于9月6日成功返回预定着陆场。

  这次试验的圆满成功,标志着我国可重复使用航天器技术研究取得重要突破,后续可为和平利用太空提供更加便捷、廉价的往返方式。
China's reusable test spacecraft successfully landed
2020-09-06 10:48:24 Source: Xinhuanet

Xinhua News Agency, Jiuquan, September 6 (Li Guoli, Zhao Jinlong) The reusable spacecraft recently launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center successfully returned to the designated landing site on September 6 after flying in orbit for 2 days.

   The complete success of this experiment marks an important breakthrough in China’s technological research on reusable spacecraft, which will provide a more convenient and economical round-trip transportation method for the peaceful use of space.
 
so we still don't have a photo of this spaceplane?
 

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