China's Space Program News Thread

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In a national astronaut training base in Beijing, a robot with two mechanic arms and various cameras performed a simulated satellite refueling process.

"The two mechanic arms like human hands can connect with a satellite through a gripper on its left hand and refuel the satellite through a fuel nozzle installed on its right hand," said Zhu Zhibin, a robot specialist and developer at China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

Zhu said that the robotic refueling can effectively revive satellites which have gone silent due to fuel exhaustion. But the process is much more complicated in the weightlessness in the outer space.

"First of all, it has to be highly accurate. Current docking of spacecraft is connection of cooperative operation as the targeted spacecraft, such as the orbiting space lab Tiangong, is controllable. But the status control is not available for a silent satellite without fuel. So this kind of docking is more difficult than the one between Tiangong and spacecraft Shenzhou," said Zhu.

According to Zhu, the robot is also designed for other tasks besides refueling satellites.

"It can automatically change tools, like a Swiss Army knife. For example, a screwdriver is available when it needs to turn screws and a scissor is available when the robot needs to cut something. It is multi-functional due to the automatic tool changing," Zhu said.

 

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Long March 4C successfully lofts Yaogan 27 in China's next surprise Launch
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Chinese Long March 4C rocket blasted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on Thursday at 2:31 UTC, carrying the Yaogan 27 reconnaissance satellite to orbit. Chinese officials declared the launch a success about one hour after liftoff and orbital data confirms the identity of the satellite, that is kept secret by officials, as an optical reconnaissance spacecraft. No prior announcement was made regarding the launch, a pattern typical for Yaogan military satellite launches out of Taiyuan, located in the Shanxi Province.

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The Yaogan satellites either carry electro-optical imaging payloads, Synthetic Aperture Radar systems for all-weather imaging, or Electronic Intelligence payloads that are used to track activity on foreign territory including the tracking of ships across the oceans.

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As per the usual procedure, no information on the satellite's identity and orbit was provided by Chinese officials. Orbital data released through U.S. Space Surveillance shows the upper stage of the Long March 4C rocket to have reached an orbit of 1,065 by 1,205 Kilometers inclined 100.46 degrees.

This orbit matches that of the Yaogan 8, 15, 19 and 22 satellites, both in altitude and inclination, confirming that Yaogan 27 belongs to this group of 3rd generation electro-optical satellites. Another peculiarity of this satellite series is the use of a 3.35-meter payload fairing on the CZ-4C rocket which can be seen in the images released of this launch.
 
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