China's Space Program News Thread

[escobar]

Yuanwang-7 space tracking ships

 

[danielchin]

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something came back from the successful launch and...

 

[JayBird]

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something came back from the successful launch and...

Holy cow... lucky no one was hurt. Now..... let talk about compensation!

 

[suby68]

And in English:

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[Blackstone]

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China placed its latest satellite in orbit on 27 August, carried by a Long March 4C rocket launched from the Taiyuan satellite launch centre in northern China.

Yaogan-27 was described by Chinese media as a remote sensing satellite to be used for land surveys, crop yield forecasts, and disaster relief, although this is a commonly used description and space analysts assess it to be a military surveillance satellite.

The launch was China's fourth this year, with Beidou navigation satellites launched in March and July, and a China High-Resolution Earth Observation (CHEOS) satellite placed in orbit in June.

Chinese media also published photographs on 27 August of debris from a rocket booster that fell through the roof of a villager's house, although the connection with the satellite launch was not explicitly reported.

 

[kroko]

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something came back from the successful launch and...

Hmm, will china transfer all launches to weichang? i mean its closer to equador, and doesnt overflown land. Or is there any reason why would china keep its inland launch sites?

 

[suby68]

China will always operate several launch sites the same way as the US and Russia do. The heavy satellites and the manned missions will probably be the main users of the new launch site in Wenchang.

See in Wikipedia: It is China's fourth and southernmost space vehicle launch facility (

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). It has been specially selected for its low

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, which is only

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of the equator, which will allow for a substantial increase in payload, necessary for the future manned program, space station and deep space exploration program.

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[LesAdieux]

China to explore 'dark side' of the moon

(CNN)China has confirmed it plans to send a spacecraft to land on the moon's "dark side" before 2020,

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-- a mission, which, if successful, would make it the first country to do so.

The mission will be carried out by the lunar probe Chang'e-4, Zou Yongliao, a scientist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences said at a deep space exploration forum on Tuesday.

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[escobar]

China has just launched what is rumored to be an early warning sat..

 

[escobar]

Chinese Long March 3B blasts off with undisclosed Satellite

Spoiler: link

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A Chinese Long March 3B rocket lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on Saturday around 15:40 UTC on a mission to Geostationary Transfer Orbit.

The identity of the satellite that was hidden under the launcher's payload fairing was unknown at the time of launch, initially suspected to be a military satellite likely dedicated to Missile Early Warning capabilities but later reported to be a communications test satellite going by the name Tōngxùn Jishù Shiyàn 1.

In the run-up to the launch, the leading suspicion on the identity of the satellite was a Early Warning Satellite set to take a spot in Geostationary Orbit after announcements were made in recent months that China is working to establish a missile early warning capability to be coupled with a ground-based radar system for advance warnings and defense capabilities. The secrecy surrounding the launch further contributed to theories of this being a military mission.

Liftoff from Xichang took place in the dead of night and was only preceded by navigational warnings and air-route closures plus some advance warning for residents near impact sites of launch vehicle debris.

An announcement confirming the success of the launch was issued one hour and 20 minutes after liftoff, though satellite separation had taken place much earlier, around 25 minutes into the mission that employed a standard ascent profile aiming for a Geostationary Transfer Orbit.

Details on the purpose of the satellite are very much unknown as the only piece of information brought forward after the secretive launch was the identification of the satellite as a communications technology test satellite.