China to launch Jilin-1 satellite in Oct

[TaiShang]

China to launch Jilin-1 satellite in Oct

Northeast China's Jilin Province plans to send Jilin-1, the country's first self-developed remote sensing satellite for commercial use, into space in October, its designers said Tuesday.

Jilin-1 consists of four satellites, one for high-definition images, one for testing new space technology and another two for video, said Xuan Ming, board chairman of Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd under the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The satellites will focus on providing photographs to commercial clients, while helping with harvest assessment, geological disaster prevention and resource surveys, Xuan said.

Jilin, one of the country's oldest industrial bases, is developing its satellite industry as a new economic drive. The province plans to launch 60 satellites by 2020 and 137 by 2030.

China to launch Jilin-1 satellite in Oct - People's Daily Online

 

[Hypersonicmissiles]

Excellent.

 

[cirr]

More and more regional governments are sending up its own satellites。

It was not long ago that Beijing Municipality sent into orbit its satellite onboard an Indian launch vehicle。

 

[theniubt]

More and more regional governments are sending up its own satellites。

It was not long ago that Beijing Municipality sent into orbit its satellite onboard an Indian launch vehicle。

Why did they chose to use Indian rockets?

 

[cirr]

Why did they chose to use Indian rockets?

If I remerber correctly, the satelite was developed and made in Britain and was among a bunch of small satellites launched by an Indian rocket，obviously the cheap means available。

China's state launchers are hands full for more important and sensitive tasks。

 

[Hypersonicmissiles]

If I remerber correctly, the satelite was developed and made in Britain and was among a bunch of small satellites launched by an Indian rocket，obviously the cheap means available。

China's state launchers are hands full for more important and sensitive tasks。

Private sector should be given access for space launching.

 

[TaiShang]

3D printer making Chinese space suit parts

May 08, 2015

Chinese researchers have used 3D printing technology to make a safer space suit for astronauts while spacewalking. A research center under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation used a 3D printer to create the vent pipes and the flanges connecting the pipes used on extravehicular space suit, according to a recent report from China Space News.

The vent pipe and the flange as a whole can improve the reliability and safety of the space suit, and suits can be made more efficiently. Researchers will use the technique to make more parts, says the report. The technology has been approved by the Scientific Research Training Center for Chinese Astronauts.

China plans to launch its second orbiting space lab, Tiangong-2, in 2016, and aims to put a permanent manned space station into service around 2022. Chinese astronauts have three kinds of space suit: inside-capsule suit, inside-capsule jacket and extravehicular space suit.

The inside-capsule space suit is used in case the pressure changes in the spaceship, usually during launch and landing periods. The blue and lightweight inside-capsule jacket is used during normal flight, and is more convenient for work in the spaceship or space station.

The extravehicular space suit is the most complicated, providing life support system for astronauts during spacewalks. The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology has successfully developed a multi-laser metal 3D printer, enabling astronauts to print items with just one 3D printer in space.

Wang Lianfeng, senior engineer at the academy, says the 3D printing technology is suitable for making parts with complicated structures and odd shapes, such as the valves of rocket engines.

"It's very difficult to process the complicated parts by traditional methods," says Wang. For example, it takes two groups of workers, working shifts around the clock, more than two weeks to make a part of a rocket engine, but a 3D printer can do it in just 16 hours. Wang says China is on the cutting edge of 3D printing technology.

The multi-laser metal 3D printer in the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology is like a gray-colored cabinet. The 3D printer used in space is similar to regular printer in principle, but it should be smaller and lighter, and must undergo more zero gravity tests, says Wang.

There are still many difficulties to overcome in 3D printing in space. Researchers are still developing materials suitable for 3D printing and the precision of 3D printed items needs to be improved, Wang adds.

 

[opruh]

Go China!

 

[cirr]

Chinese Amateur Radio Satellites Set to Launch In Early September:

from The ARRL Letter on August 6, 2015

China's Amateur Satellite Group CAMSAT said this week that nine satellites carrying Amateur Radio payloads have been delivered to the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Central China. CAMSAT CEO Alan Kung, BA1DU, said they're expected to launch between September 7 and 9. All are part of the CAS-3 series of satellites. Four of the microsatellites and two of the CubeSats included in the launch have been designated as the XW-2 (Hope-2) amateur satellite system (XW-2A through XW-2F), although Kung also refers to them using their initial CAS-3A through CAS-3F nomenclature. The other three satellites -- a CubeSat, a nanosatellite, and a picosatellite -- carry the designations CAS-3G through CAS-3I, respectively. CAMSAT announced earlier this year that the launch date would be postponed from mid-July until early September.

"Each satellite of the CAS-3 series will work independently, and they are made by different organizations," Kung told ARRL.

The XW-2 series satellites are equipped with substantially identical Amateur Radio payloads -- a U/V mode linear transponder, a CW telemetry beacon and an AX.25 19.2k/9.6k baud GMSK telemetry downlink, CAMSAT said in May. Each Amateur Radio complement has the same technical characteristics, but will operate on different 70 centimeter uplink and 2 meter downlink frequencies. XW-2A through XW-2F have identical quarter-wavelength deployable monopole antennas made of steel tape.

CAMSAT worked with three entities to complete the other three satellites: CAS-3G (DCBB), a 2U CubeSat being built by Shenzhen HIT Satellite Ltd of China for educational purposes; CAS-3H (LilacSat-2), a Harbin Institute of Technology of China microsatellite for science experiments and Amateur Radio, and CAS-3I (NDT-Phone Sat), a National University of Defense Technology of China picosatellite for carrying out technical experiments. CAS-3G and CAS-3I will downlink digital telemetry on amateur frequencies, while CAS-3H will carry a U/V FM transponder and APRS.

Kung said a Long March-6 rocket will carry the XW-2 and CAS-3 satellites into orbit along with 11 other satellites. Read more Chinese Amateur Radio Satellites Set to Launch in Early September. -- Thanks to CAMSAT CEO Alan Kung, BA1DU, and IARU

Chinese Amateur Radio Satellites Set to Launch In Early September: