Researchers used data generated by the 陆地探测四号01星 (Ludi Tance 4-01) GEOSAR satellite to track the Japanese tanker Towa Maru for 30 minutes. To bypass the signal noise of rough (4+) sea states they used 30-second video slices (sub-apertures) and keystone transform to fix the motion blur, resulting in a positioning error of 3,100m. Comparing the radar data to the ships AIS tag proved the team can track ships across the ocean regardless of weather and speed.
China's Space Program Thread II
- Thread starter Blitzo
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Researchers used data generated by the 陆地探测四号01星 (Ludi Tance 4-01) GEOSAR satellite to track the Japanese tanker Towa Maru for 30 minutes. To bypass the signal noise of rough (4+) sea states they used 30-second video slices (sub-apertures) and keystone transform to fix the motion blur, resulting in a positioning error of 3,100m. Comparing the radar data to the ships AIS tag proved the team can track ships across the ocean regardless of weather and speed.
broadsword
Brigadier
Traditional LEO SAR has a positioning margin of error of hundreds of km and no persistence. So this is a quantum leap.
$8.4 billion is a start, but it needs to be significantly higher. The United States, for example, has a vast and rapidly expanding capacity to deliver mass to orbit and beyond, with no signs of slowing. This confers substantial power (both soft and hard) as illustrated by the role of Starlink in the Ukraine–Russia war. And this is without even considering more kinetic applications of space-based systems. A clear-eyed recognition that failing to build capabilities in this domain could prove strategically disastrous is essential: it must then be followed by opening the liquidity taps.
Wow….they had a space agency even before India and China , that’s crazy. The way Pakistans leaders have messed up the country is a tale many people will be shocked about . From what I’ve read Pakistan had a higher living standard and development than India(and much of South Asia) and China in the 60s and even until the 70s/80s, which is crazy looking back now . They have messed up the country a lot. Even bengladesh bengalis (a quasi former second class people under Pakistan) today are even emerging ahead of them with higher living standards and growth. I don’t really where or how they went so wrong, and it doesn’t seem like there is even any sense of urgency to genuine change on their part to catch up, even to their nemesis India (much less Bangladesh), which I would have thought the rivalry and competition would have pushed them to do better and get better leadership but doesn’t seem to be the case. It’s a puzzle to be honest.
at this rate INDIA will outgrow them so much that in a few decades from now, they won’t even have a chance or courage to fight them. Just like China is growing/has outgrown Taiwan so much that in a a decade or two from now , they won’t even think of a war as a possibility (not even the US).
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I think. Gina is taking the more cautious /safer approach of moving slowly to see how this plays out first before committing huge sums of capital for investments in this sector . It’s not a bad strategy per se. Afterall, it’s good to be cautious as well and not waste investments . Though I also agree , there’s are also some disadvantages of being conservative and cautious, since can also fall behind/play catchup if the first mover/risk taker succeeds
I don't think so.
The answer to all those who laughed at the commercial profitability of StarLink and low cost launch. I am sure there are voices in the Chinas space community arguing that there is no point of having reusable rockets. Instead of building infinite variations of rockets, they could have sped up the development of select few reusable rockets and scaled it up.
I agree with the argument and sentiment, but I don't think that video is a useful basis to make it on (idea of Starlink being actually a radar constellation is dubious and not really consistent with other obvious efforts in constellation sensing).
The bigger problem with the discourse around reusable rockets in a PRC context is people don't realize how far behind they were in overall technology until recently.
CZ-5 only first flew in late 2016, and PRC maturity of non-hypergolic fuelled rockets is also a fairly recent thing (meanwhile think about comparable milestones for the US, or even Russia), so the idea of pursuing reusable rockets has been quite high risk until the last half decade or so due to lack of mastery of necessary antecedent technologies.
China seems to work very well for anything planned. Take every projects mentioned in the five year plans. The recreation of entire semiconductor supply chain is no small feat, and arguably more difficult than the reusable rocket development. China had oxygen rich staged combustion engine well in the 2010s, the basics of falcon 9 level of rocket development was not that far off from the tech stack that China had during those time. It feels that the lack of development was and still due to the oversized influence of state owned companies in the aerospace sector, who are better at accomplishing what they are assigned for and not so much for responding to new events and bringing out innovative ideas. While private sectors in US can push the boundaries and set new rules and explore wildly, this relative lack of freedom seems to have hampered the development.