January 2015: SAST completed the vibration test of a significant new satellite bus, the heavy satellite bus SAST 9000. SAST 9000 was reportedly a high orbit remote sensing platform aiming for geostationary high resolution imaging satellites, geostationary ELINT satellites and super SAR satellites, etc.
January 2015: CZ-5 fairing separation test was successfully completed in Tianjin. The fairing was the longest, heaviest and widest one ever developed by China
January 2015: SAST completed a ground simulation of in-orbit satellite servicing including close proximity approach, docking, component replacement using a robotic arm and propellant resupply. It paves the way for the future robotic spacecraft to perform in-orbit satellite repair and resupply. SAST spent three years to develop the ground simulation system based on an airfloating platform.
January 2015: CAST completed the lifetime test of the LIPS-200 ion thruster lasting more than one year. It accumulated 6,000 hours of firing time and more than 15,000 times of ignition, enabling the satellite's working life for at least 15 years. It will soon be used on China's new communication satellite.
January 2015: Tiangong 2 space laboratory had completed the assembly and payloads installation, and was delivered for electric testing.
February 2015: FY-4, reached a major milestone after years of development. It formally switched to the stage of flight model development on 28 January. In early February, the heat balance test of the lightning imaging sensor, a key payload of FY-4, was completed in CAST.
February 2015: the 6th Academy completed the three year-long lifetime test of the cathode in its 80 mN Hall Effect thruster. It accumulated 18,000 hours firing time with more than 15,000 times of ignition, both of which far exceeds its design specification.
March 2015: the first complete CZ-5 vehicle, prepared for modal test, completed assembly, giving people the first glimpse of the full launch vehicle
March 2015: China is studying a new launcher named CZ-8 that will be a sunsynchronous orbit launcher.
March 2015: the propulsion sub-system of the Tianzhou 1 cargo vehicle completed the pad rehearsal in Wenchang.
March 2015: the China Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station (CRSSGS) of CAS revealed that a new ground station, named the Arctic Station, will be built in Sweden. It will be the fourth station and the first overseasstation to expand the current network which includes the three existing stations in Miyun, Beijing, Kashi, Xinjiang and Sanya, Hainan, respectively. CRSSGS is a member of the Landsat Ground Station Operations Working Group and is responsible for receiving and distributing data from LANDSAT, SPOT, RADARSAT, ENVISAT, and all Chinese resource satellites.
March 2015: the flight model of a Hall Effect thruster, the LHT-100 developed by CAST, completed the ignition test in an integrated ground simulation environment, paving the way for its application in space.
March 2015: CAST completed a review on an R&D project named "the electric propulsion using field emission for precise control". The project was formally approved. This new electric propulsion system is suitable for micro satellites with micro-Newton level precise control.
After construction period of three years, the micro-vibration test laboratory was put into use in CAST. Micro-vibration resistance is key to the image quality of high resolution imaging satellites. During its construction, the laboratory had already been used to test dynamic vibration characteristics of the GF-2 satellite that verified the design of the satellite’s vibration isolator.
