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China Unveils New Rocket, People Get Real Curious About What It's For

By Ryan Faith

November 13, 2014

Smack dab in the middle of a string of peaceful international summits, China has gone and hosted a major arms exhibition. The annual Airshow China in Zhuhai lasts through November 16, and it's managing to coincide with the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation regional summit in Beijing, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Myanmar, and the 2014 G-20 Summit in Australia.

The symbolism of having a major arms show spotlighting China's military technology is not lost on observers — especially since China has already unsettled its neighbors lately with its aggressive diplomatic and military posture.

One new development that is attracting attention in the defense industry trade press is the unveiling of a new Chinese prototype launch vehicle, the Feitian Emergency Satellite Launch System, or FT-1. The launch vehicle is a solid-fuel rocket smaller than but roughly comparable to Europe's Vega and Japan's Epsilon rockets, and capable of deploying a satellite of up to about 650 pounds.

What's attracted the notice of observers is that the rocket itself fits in a tractor trailer and can be launched from just about anywhere. It would be awfully expensive to add that kind of capability just for amusement, so why would China think it needs a road-mobile satellite launch system?

The manufacturer, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), says that the launcher is a "space emergency response system" intended to quickly replace a downed or nonfunctioning satellite. The ability to drive on the road is supposed to increase launch site flexibility by allowing the launch site and launch vehicle integration — the process of connecting a satellite to a launcher — to be separate.

This makes a certain amount of sense. NASA's gigantic crawler that took the Saturn V rockets and Space Shuttle from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad does the same thing — but it's about a billionth as mobile as a truck. So maybe the Chinese just figured that trucks are better than crawlers, and that truck-sized things are easily moved by trucks.

However, not everyone is convinced. Normally when a country develops a solid-fuel rocket like the FT-1, it's a sign that the country is trying to develop or improve its ICBM force. Solid fuel is the propellant of choice for military systems because it is easier to store and use than the liquid-fuel alternative. Making a road-mobile space launch system would then seem to suggest that China is actually trying to get better road-mobile ICBMs — and choosing an arms show spanning three regional summits to remind its neighbors who's the boss in Asia.

Except the Chinese did that last month when they tested — you guessed it — a road-mobile ICBM, the DF-31B. And so the unveiling of the FT-1 could be a strategic signal of sorts, but it would be like showing off your academic chops by reapplying to the same program you just successfully graduated from.

Road-mobile missiles play an important role in strategic deterrence. They're hard to find and eliminate, and are therefore a way for a country to make its nuclear deterrent less vulnerable to a first strike or counterattack. But the reasoning for using something road-mobile in a space launch is a little less clear. Launch sites are generally big, fixed installations that are vulnerable to attack. But realistically, the only kind of fight in which the vulnerability of space launch sites would be a factor would be a major conflict with another military power that is swatting your satellites out of space.

And even then it wouldn't make much sense. The FT-1's 650-pound maximum payload is small — a weather satellite might be 10 times as heavy — and besides, major launch vehicles are so large that road mobility isn't really an option.

China did demonstrate an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon in 2007, creating a huge plume of space debris deadly to satellites and astronauts — and the launch vehicle for that was even smaller than the FT-1. This has led some to speculate that the real reason China would pursue the FT-1's technology is to have a road-mobile ASAT that could take out enemy satellites without the need for a launch base. This is roughly mirrored by the US decision to down one of its own non-functional satellites shortly after the Chinese ASAT test during Operation Burnt Frost. In Burnt Frost, the ASAT weapon was fired from a ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

So, fair enough — a mobile satellite launch system that allows small payloads to be integrated far from the launch site may suggest an anti-satellite system is in the works. But is China really choosing to hint at its ASAT capabilities at the same time it's meeting with fellow spacefaring and strategic rivals America and Japan?

Similar systems in development may hint at the answer. DARPA is pursuing an airborne launch system on behalf of the Defense Department called the Airborne Launch Assist Space Access (ALASA). In one sense, it's like the FT-1 — a way of transporting a fully loaded launch vehicle and using it to put a small payload into orbit without the need for a big, complex launch facility. This would theoretically offer a number of benefits, including getting ahead of launch site weather conditions and reducing costs. However, like the manufacturer of the FT-1, DARPA isn't mentioning any ASAT applications in its press releases.

This kind of air-launch technology is also being pursued by private companies in the US, one of the better known examples being Virgin Galactic. Richard Branson's team is, in addition to developing SpaceShipTwo for the tourist market, working on a satellite launch vehicle called LauncherOne. Much like DARPA's ALASA, LauncherOne is a system with a launch vehicle that would be carried to altitude by another aircraft and then released, at which point it would fire its motor, fly higher, and place a small payload into space.

Does this mean Branson is trying to develop the kind of ASAT capability that would be important in a high-intensity conflict with a major global and military power, perhaps in order to ransom the world's satellites like a James Bond villain?

No. Because sometimes a rocket is just a rocket.
 
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uhh, china is a member of the P5, and one of 5 member allowed nuclear weapons under the NPT, it does not need to hide that its doing ICBM research, nor does it hide that it has anti-satellite capabilities. so it makes no sense to present a truck satellite launcher when its really a icbm or a anti satellite weapon. more likely, its exactly what its says, a rapid launch platform for small satellites, maybe not weather satellite but certainly things like short term space sensors or to restore communications in the event that a important com satellite goes offline due to war or accident.
 
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debris cleaner..

can clean other things too :D

from
[Information] News du Secteur Aérospatial Chinois - Page 10

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i think china already have some up there in orbit

?? chuangxin-3, shiyan-7, shijian-15

Development of the Chinese Intelligent Space Robotic System
Code:
http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alexander_Beyer/publication/234073297_Development_of_the_Chinese_Intelligent_Space_Robotic_System/links/0fcfd50ed634ab9c50000000

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TASS: Economy - China interested in producing Russian rocket engines — Roscosmos chief
November 18, 12:52 UTC+3

“We are open to cooperation in our work, but only on a parity basis,” head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos Oleg Ostapenko said

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© ITAR-TASS/Sergei Fadeichev

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. China is interested in producing Russian rocket engines on its territory and wants to cooperate in manned space exploration, satellite navigation and remote sensing of the Earth, Oleg Ostapenko, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said on Tuesday.

“During our visit to China, we discussed with our partners various spheres of cooperation, including satellite navigation, remote sensing of the Earth, manufacture of electronic components, materials engineering, aerospace engineering, manned space programs, and rocket engine building,” Ostapenko said.

“I will inform the government about results of the working trip to China. We can say then in which spheres we will actively cooperate with them,” he said, adding that the two countries were likely to see an exchange of manned flights to Russian and Chinese space stations in the future, as well as to organize joint deep-space exploration missions.

“We are open to cooperation in our work, but only on a parity basis,” Ostapenko said.
 
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TASS: Economy - China interested in producing Russian rocket engines — Roscosmos chief
November 18, 12:52 UTC+3

“We are open to cooperation in our work, but only on a parity basis,” head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos Oleg Ostapenko said

View attachment 154014
© ITAR-TASS/Sergei Fadeichev

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. China is interested in producing Russian rocket engines on its territory and wants to cooperate in manned space exploration, satellite navigation and remote sensing of the Earth, Oleg Ostapenko, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said on Tuesday.

“During our visit to China, we discussed with our partners various spheres of cooperation, including satellite navigation, remote sensing of the Earth, manufacture of electronic components, materials engineering, aerospace engineering, manned space programs, and rocket engine building,” Ostapenko said.

“I will inform the government about results of the working trip to China. We can say then in which spheres we will actively cooperate with them,” he said, adding that the two countries were likely to see an exchange of manned flights to Russian and Chinese space stations in the future, as well as to organize joint deep-space exploration missions.

“We are open to cooperation in our work, but only on a parity basis,” Ostapenko said.

We don't need Russian rocket but we will love to cooperate or exchange with Russian in regards to manned mission. And we need to have beidou 2 ground station in Russia for better accuracy for our system.

This news is another example of spit off by Russian who still think they are in a high ground. It just like the Su-35 sales saga.

Our CZ-5 is more than enough to support our ambition space programs and so as many new boasters we have unveil like YF-100 and YF-600. If funding approved, the CZ-9 Saturn V size rocket will be build in future soon.

More bluntly, our rocket technology has far catchup and even lead in some area.
 
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We don't need Russian rocket but we will love to cooperate or exchange with Russian in regards to manned mission. And we need to have beidou 2 ground station in Russia for better accuracy for our system.

This news is another example of spit off by Russian who still think they are in a high ground. It just like the Su-35 sales saga.

Our CZ-5 is more than enough to support our ambition space programs and so as many new boasters we have unveil like YF-100 and YF-600. If funding approved, the CZ-9 Saturn V size rocket will be build in future soon.

More bluntly, our rocket technology has far catchup and even lead in some area.

They will tune down eventually
 
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They will tune down eventually
Luckily Putin is a cool headed man. If Russia is run by nationalistic Russian. They will never make a come back. Putin during his time in Russia had first hands news of how USA ruin the mighty Soviet Union. US will never help Russia as long as she's still a nuclear powerhouse.
 
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We don't need Russian rocket but we will love to cooperate or exchange with Russian in regards to manned mission. And we need to have beidou 2 ground station in Russia for better accuracy for our system.

This news is another example of spit off by Russian who still think they are in a high ground. It just like the Su-35 sales saga.

Our CZ-5 is more than enough to support our ambition space programs and so as many new boasters we have unveil like YF-100 and YF-600. If funding approved, the CZ-9 Saturn V size rocket will be build in future soon.

More bluntly, our rocket technology has far catchup and even lead in some area.
He is talking about rocket engine, not rocket. Russian is still top notch in especially kerosene engine and many other area in aerospace.

Manufacturing of rocket engine in China would mean China buying the engine plus the production technology.

He did not state exactly what parity mean, presumably that would mean China not only buying but contributing system/technology wise, and I could not think of any reason not to.

Space exploration is a risky and costly affair, I think this is one area where both could benefit from genuine cooperation.
 
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He is talking about rocket engine, not rocket. Russian is still top notch in especially kerosene engine and many other area in aerospace.

Manufacturing of rocket engine in China would mean China buying the engine plus the production technology.

He did not state exactly what parity mean, presumably that would mean China not only buying but contributing system/technology wise, and I could not think of any reason not to.

Space exploration is a risky and costly affair, I think this is one area where both could benefit from genuine cooperation.
I do not know whether you really follow up the development of Chinese space rocket. Rocket engine is precisely the strong point of China space.

YF-100 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It will debut early next year and more powerful engine will follow up.
 
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China should build their own rocket launches . Do not buy from Russia
Not that China would not be able to progress to advanced fighter aircraft like to purchase from Russia used.

If China wants to be a country of comparable America. China to build these things , even the cpu.
 
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China should build their own rocket launches . Do not buy from Russia
Not that China would not be able to progress to advanced fighter aircraft like to purchase from Russia used.

If China wants to be a country of comparable America. China to build these things , even the cpu.

When have we bought the rocket from Russia?

BTW, the Su-35 is not set, and it looks like the PLAAF doesn't want it.
 
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China launches Yaogan-24 remote sensing satellite

20.11.2014


China has successfully launched the Yaogan-24 remote sensing satellite into orbit, Xinhua news agency reported. A Long March-2D rocket took off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China’s northwestern Gansu province. The satellite will be used to carry out scientific experiments, natural resources surveys, disaster relief missions, and crop estimates, China’s national space agency said. The launch was the 199th mission for the Long March rocket family.
 
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