China's Space Program News Thread

[escobar]

China's largest carrier rocket Long March-5 was transported to the launch site on Hainan Island for its maiden flight scheduled for November. Since it arrived at the center in September, Long March-5 has completed all the assembling and testing work as planned.

The rocket will be further examined and tested. After confirming its conditions, propellant will be injected into the rocket and the launch mission will be conducted as scheduled. The launch site system as well as telemetry and communication system at the launch center have are ready for the launch mission.

 

[ChesireCat]

Really appreciate your updates Escobar. Keep it up. Cheers!

 

[escobar]

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China Great Wall Industry Corp.’s win of a contract for a high-throughput Ka-band broadband satellite for Thailand’s Thaicom is a breakthrough deal for China’s satellite export industry, which up to now has relied on domestic demand and special-circumstances orders, mainly from emerging-market governments.

The contract, from Thaicom subsidiary International Satellite Co. Ltd., is valued at $208 million covering the satellite’s construction and launch, continuing a China Great Wall Industry Corp. (CGWIC) practice of bundling satellite construction and launch contracts. Scheduled for launch in late 2019, the satellite will carry a Ka-band payload with 37 GHz of capacity, which Thaicom said is equivalent to a throughput of 53 gigabits per second...

 

[escobar]

Chinese medical experts have tested the remote medical consulting system that links the astronauts in the orbiting space lab Tiangong-2 with the ground-based space center. The test was carried out on Wednesday at the Chinese PLA (People's Liberation Army) General Hospital Telemedicine Center where medical experts received the astronauts' data transmitted via the system and carried out medical checkups and cardiac function examinations. Then they sent the diagnosis and prescription to the astronauts.

"Manned space missions that last for more than one or two weeks or even one month will have great physical and mental impact on the astronauts. Therefore they need medical support from the ground," said Li Wen, deputy director of the gastroenterology department of the Chinese PLA General Hospital.

Although the two astronauts, Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong, have acquired basic medical treatment skills before they began the space mission, they might need medical consulting on complex symptoms, said the doctors.

"The astronauts provided the data about blood pressure, pulse, respiration and cardiac function checks and regular examinations and sent the data to the ground from the orbiting space lab. We analyzed the symptoms and offered our diagnosis and treatment plan for them through the interconnected system," said Zhang Meikui, director of the Chinese PLA General Hospital Telemedicine Center.

 

[escobar]

A wide-angle infrared fisheye camera independently developed by the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) aboard an accompanying satellite has been successfully capturing shots of China's Tiangong-2 space lab and Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft.

Liu Tongyu, optoelectronic expert at CETC, said though it looks similar to a regular camera, an infrared fisheye camera has a much bigger field of view. "It has a wide field of view of 180 degrees," said Liu. A wide field of view is necessary for the camera to perform its task, said Liu.

"For example, there might be some abnormal changes in the spacecraft’s position and orbit. A camera with a small field of view might not be able to monitor these changes," said Liu. Besides the infrared fisheye camera, there is also a visible light camera installed on the satellite. The satellite is able to conduct efficient orbit control, process tasks autonomously and transmit data at high speeds.

 

[escobar]

China plans to launch an X-ray pulsar navigation satellite (XPNAV-1) in November to test autonomous spacecraft navigation, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) Fifth Academy. X-ray pulsar navigation is an innovative navigation technique in which periodic X-ray signals emitted from pulsars are used to determine the location of a spacecraft in deep space, said Shuai Ping, chief system designer of the satellite.

The satellite, developed by CASC Fifth Academy, weighs more than 200 kilograms and carries two detectors.In its mission, the satellite will test the detectors' functions in responding to the background noise of the universe, outline pulsar contours, and create a database for pulsar navigation, the academy said. X-ray pulsar navigation techniques will help reduce the reliance of spacecraft on ground-based navigation methods and are expected to achieve autonomous spacecraft navigation in the future.

 

[escobar]

From BX-2...

 

[SinoSoldier]

60-ton (roughly 588 kN) metholox (methane/LOX) engine:






120-ton (roughly 1176 kN) metholox engine:



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For the record, methane/LOX engines are what the SpaceX ITS plan to use to bring humans to Mars (scaled-down models have been tested already). It is one step above current LOX/LH2 engines.

 

[Quickie]

60-ton (roughly 588 kN) metholox (methane/LOX) engine:

View attachment 33674
View attachment 33675
View attachment 33676


120-ton (roughly 1176 kN) metholox engine:

View attachment 33677

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For the record, methane/LOX engines are what the SpaceX ITS plan to use to bring humans to Mars (scaled-down models have been tested already). It is one step above current LOX/LH2 engines.

It looks like those are real life model of the engines. So what is the stage of their development at present?

 

[dingyibvs]

Two key things in the description, first they're supposed to be reusable, and second, in the Chinese description it says 60-ton and 120-ton CLASS engines, meaning the actual thrust could different by a good amount.