China's Space Program Thread II

[by78]

Mission logos for the upcoming Shenzhou-20, Shenzhou-21, and Tianzhou-9 missions.

 

[by78]

High-resolution images from the launch of Siwei Gaojing-1 03 and 04, which was carried out by a Long March 2C. This marks the 561st flight of the Long March series.

Gaojing-1 03 and 04 have beamed back first images. The two satellites have the highest resolution among all commercial remote-sensing satellites in China.

 

[by78]

Zhuque-3 is on track for maiden flight in the second half of this year. The launch vehicle is of stainless steel construction. It has a body diameter of 4.5 meters, a fairing diameter of 5.2 meters, a total length of 76.6 meters, a takeoff mass of 660 tons, and a LEO carrying capacity of 21.3 tons. The 1st stage is designed to be reused no less than 20 times.

An update on Zhuque-3 launch vehicle. Zhang Jinru, VP of LandSpace re-confirmed that the maiden launch of Zhuque-3 will take place in the 2nd half of this year (sometime in Q3). The company also expects to conduct a launch and 1st-stage recovery by the end of this year.

 

[by78]

Lightyear has shown off a 3.8m-diameter propellant tank bottom fabricated using a newly developed bulge forming process.

LightYear has begun applying its newly developed proprietary bulge forming process to the mass production of the company's 3.35-meter-diameter tank bottoms. The image below shows the first such tank bottom to be mass produced using the new process.

 

[by78]

One more private launch provider that I haven't heard of until now. The company is called AstronStone (宇石空间). It's currently developing the AS-1 (AstronStone-1) launch vehicle, a reusable LOX/Methane rocket of stainless steel construction with chopstick recovery. I have no information on its dimensions and performance parameters.

More information on Astronstone's AS-1 launch vehicle has been released by the company:
– Diameter: 4.2m
– Capacity (non-reusable, reusable): >15 tons (to LEO?), >10 tons (to LEO?)
– Launch cost (non-reusable, reusable): 20000RMB or 2800USD per kg, 10000RMB or 1400USD per kg.
– Turnaround cycle for the reusable 1st stage: 10 days.

According to AstronStone, the development of the AS-1 is progressing rapidly. The 2nd stage propellant tank will be finished this month. By the end of this year, the company expects to begin conducting 2nd-stage ignition tests, finish building the 1st stage for the maiden flight, as well as completing ground verification tests of the chopstick recovery system.

Sounds ambitious. We'll see.

 

[Asug]

Does anyone know why the CASC Blue Book has not been released yet?

 

[by78]

More information on Astronstone's AS-1 launch vehicle has been released by the company:
– Diameter: 4.2m
– Capacity (non-reusable, reusable): >15 tons (to LEO?), >10 tons (to LEO?)
– Launch cost (non-reusable, reusable): 20000RMB or 2800USD per kg, 10000RMB or 1400USD per kg.
– Turnaround cycle for the reusable 1st stage: 10 days.

According to AstronStone, the development of the AS-1 is progressing rapidly. The 2nd stage propellant tank will be finished this month. By the end of this year, the company expects to begin conducting 2nd-stage ignition tests, finish building the 1st stage for the maiden flight, as well as completing ground verification tests of the chopstick recovery system.

Sounds ambitious. We'll see.

More on AstronStone's product plans. The company is also planning to develop a much larger AS-2 launch vehicle, which will have a diameter of 8m.

A brochure on the AS-1 launch vehicle that fill in some previously missing data points such as height (70m), fairing volume (300 cubic meters), take-off trust (700 tons, nine 1st stage engines), and take-off mass (570 tons). The brochure also briefly describes the company's chopstick recovery tower. The tower has a height of 100m, and the capture arms have a length of 30m.

 

[Red tsunami]

Gaojing-1 03 and 04 have beamed back first images. The two satellites have the highest resolution among all commercial remote-sensing satellites in China.

Isn't Jilin-1 Gaofen-05B the one with the highest resolution?

 

[by78]

Isn't Jilin-1 Gaofen-05B the one with the highest resolution?

View attachment 147053

You could be right. I merely took the company's marketing material at face value.

 

[escobar]

China has been synchronizing the posturing of its growing counter-space weapons with its military exercises in in the East China Sea

“For example, when you think about the counter-space weapons that China is building, including direct ascent ASATs … those are going out and being postured at the same time that the exercise is unfolding in the East China Sea,” said Mastalir. “We are starting to see more and more evidence—as they build the complexity, they’re bringing more of those forces in.”

“It’s not surprising that China, too, is going to build these kinds of mega constellations—they’ve seen firsthand how effective it is in preserving communications in contested areas,” said Mastalir. “I fully expect, as we continue to see, not just communication constellations, but the proliferation of remote sensing capabilities.”

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