China's Space Program News Thread

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Two Long March 2F carrier rockets to launch China's Shenzhou-11 spaceship and Tiangong-2 space lab have been under test at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.The two carrier rockets, arrived at the center on Aug. 6 from Beijing and have undergone relevant tests. It also marks the first time that two rockets make their appearance simultaneously at the launch site.

"We have just finished connecting and examining the rocket bodies and the carrier rockets are in sound conditions. This is also the first time for us to bring two carrier rockets to the base. Then we will conduct a gas-tight test and hand over some equipment that had already undergone tests, " said Jing Muchun, commander-in-chief of the Long March 2F carrier rocket operation from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

The two carrier rockets will undertake the mission of sending to orbit Tiangong-2 space lab and Shenzhou-11 spaceship with two astronauts on board. After some necessary test, the rocket to carry and launch Tiangong-2 space lab will be sent to the assembly plant first and be lifted up.

It was rare to have two Long March 2F carrier rockets tested at the launching site at the same time, but that will become a normal practice in the future, when the Long March 2F carrier rockets will be used mainly to transport astronauts. While one carrier rocket is sending astronauts into space lab, the other will be standby at the launching site or assembly plant for rescue operations, said a Chinese space scientist.

Both named Long March 2F, the two carrier rockets are different from each other. They have different shapes on the top to fit their different missions.One is set to carry the 8.5-ton space lab while the other is equipped with an escape tower for the astronauts in case of emergency.

"The escape system is set to separate the return capsule where the astronauts stay and an orbital capsule in front of it away from the dangerous part of the carrier rocket when life-threatening dangers occur. It will bring the capsules to a position and separate the return capsule and the escape vehicle, then the return capsule will return and the safety of astronauts ensured," said Zhang Zhi, chief designer of Long March 2F rockets.

 

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The preparation for the launch of China's first quantum satellite in late August is almost finished, according to its engineers on Saturday in northwest China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The satellite has already been loaded onto the carrier rocket on the launch tower, and is awaiting launch.

"We have completed a set of comprehensive tests and inspections after [the satellite] was put onto the launch tower. Just a few days ago, we finished the fourth general inspection of the launch site, as well as our launch system and measurement and control system," said Zhu Zhencai, the chief designer of the quantum satellite.

After the satellite was sent to Jiuquan in early July, the relevant department has carried out 20-day-long tests and inspections on it, including on aspects such as optical performance, electrical properties and assembly precision.

"The tests in the technological area and those conducted after it was loaded on the rocket and on launch tower all showed that the satellite is in good condition. Up till now, all the indicators for the satellite have reached our design requirements. And the satellite's operational condition is smooth and is quite good," Zhu said.

This will be the 76th time that the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center will conduct a launch mission. As it has been a busy launching season, the center has made great efforts to ensure the success of the launch assignment.

 

[SinoSoldier]

Is there a live webcast somewhere for the launch?

 

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As the launch of the world's first quantum communication satellite approaches, the project's chief scientist Pan Jianwei says he has faith in the launch scheduled for mid-August. Pan, also an academic at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, made the remarks in an exclusive interview with China Central Television (CCTV) on Saturday, amid the intense preparations for the quantum satellite.

"The quantum satellite's biggest difference is that all previous satellites just work in the space and send data to the ground. But for this satellite, we'll have a much larger experimental area. The orbit is 500 kilometers high above the ground and the two points on the ground are around 1,200 km far away from each other. So the size of the lab is 500 km times 1,200 km, which is as large as 600,000 square km," said Pan.

"The source of entangled photon pairs has never been sent into space. The brightness of the to-be sent source is the best in the world, which can ensure that the two ground stations can receive a sufficient number of signals," Pan said. 　

"In the meantime, we have to make sure the detectors can remain operational in the cosmic ray and can work for two years. All of these are the first in the world. So only if we put these "firsts" together, will we be able to make sure these relevant scientific missions can be accomplished safe and sound," he added.Pan advanced the idea of the "quantum satellite" in 2003 after he finished his studies in Austria.

In 2005, he led his team to realize the experimental free-space distribution of Entangled Photon Paris Over 13 km and, five years later, published a series of papers about quantum communication. Pan was elected as the country's youngest academic in 2011, at the age of only 41. On the cultivation of young quantum physicists, he said he is proud of his team.

"We started sending students to study abroad since 2000. They went to many foreign scientific teams to learn and accumulate experience. And all of them came back at a specified time and brought back state-of-the-art technologies. On the other hand, we have benefited from our country's efforts in developing the space industry these past years," said Pan.

"So the combination of the two aspects -- the general scientific foundation and our foresight in our field – have helped us move ahead," he added.

 

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The quantum satellite has been given the moniker "Micius," after a fifth century B.C. Chinese scientist. Micius was a philosopher as well as a scientist. He discovered that light travels in straight lines more than 2,000 years ago and was likely the first person to record an image with a pinhole.

 

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Quantum Science Satellite successfully launched...

 

[Iron Man]

If an encoded quantum message will be disrupted merely by querying it, why couldn't this easily be used as a means of attack by blanketing any emission from the satellite with hacking attempts?

 

[plawolf]

The sheer number of possible quantum variations would make it very hard, of not impossible to blanket jam. I cannot remember the actual number, as its nearly 10 years since I read the detailed anaylsis of it, but I'm sure someone else more familiar with the field can provide the actual number.

The biggest advantage of quantum communications comes from its security. Not only does it have an eye watering number of possible variations, by exploiting the unique characteristics of quantum mechanics, any 3rd party who somehow managed to compromise the encryption (almost certainly done via human Intel routes, such as compromising someone with the access codes or hacking, rather than successfully cracking the encryption itself via brute force) of a message would be immediately detected by both the sender and receiver. With even the most basic procedures in place, they will be able to discard the compromised message and switch to back up encryption protocols to try and get an uncompromised message across.

If they are a little cute about it, they could also set traps and false leads with the original encryption protocols for the eavesdropper etc.

 

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Two other sat were lanched with Mozi: A atmosphere science experiment satellite named Lixing-1 from CAS Institute of Mechanics and 6U CubeSat Cat-2 from the NanoSat lab at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

 

[broadsword]

The sheer number of possible quantum variations would make it very hard, of not impossible to blanket jam. I cannot remember the actual number, as its nearly 10 years since I read the detailed anaylsis of it, but I'm sure someone else more familiar with the field can provide the actual number.

The biggest advantage of quantum communications comes from its security. Not only does it have an eye watering number of possible variations, by exploiting the unique characteristics of quantum mechanics, any 3rd party who somehow managed to compromise the encryption (almost certainly done via human Intel routes, such as compromising someone with the access codes or hacking, rather than successfully cracking the encryption itself via brute force) of a message would be immediately detected by both the sender and receiver. With even the most basic procedures in place, they will be able to discard the compromised message and switch to back up encryption protocols to try and get an uncompromised message across.

If they are a little cute about it, they could also set traps and false leads with the original encryption protocols for the eavesdropper etc.

Quantum communication is not about encryption with variations in alphanumeric. It goes down to photons. If you write an "A", it appears at another place instantly. It is esoteric science, so perhaps, @solarz can help?

Here is a link that may help

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