China's Space Program News Thread

[winword]

And as I said, it was unacceptable then, and unacceptable now. Your "not ideal" moniker actually whitewashes the situation.
And yes, what you did was whataboutism. What the US did 45 years ago should have zero bearing on this.

It's good that you now realized it is not acceptable anytime then, as your original quote somehow indicates that it suddenly become unacceptable in 2021.

 

[Dante80]

It's good that you now realized it is not acceptable anytime then, as your original quote somehow indicates that it suddenly become unacceptable in 2021.

I never said or insinuated that. I am very specific in the words I use when conversing online, especially in matters of my expertise or interest. Please pay more attention in the future, it would help straighten possible misunderstandings.

In any case, thank you for your insight.

 

[winword]

I never said or insinuated that. I am very specific in the words I use when conversing online, especially in matters of my expertise or interest. Please pay more attention in the future, it would help straighten possible misunderstandings.

In any case, thank you for your insight.

Which frankly, in 2021 is both avoidable and unacceptable.

I was paying attention, that's why I "specifically" quoted this in the first place. I will drop this conversation as it will not yield anything anymore.

 

[hashtagpls]

Tianwen-1 should be ready to make planetfall on Mars soon.

 

[Quickie]

This is incorrect, it has a lot of choices. All modern upper stages have the ability to alter their orbit as part of the pacification process post-separation. The problem with this specific variant is that it has no upper stage, the core/sustainer itself is what holds the PAF and the payload itself.

It was known for quite a time that not adding an RCS component would result in having a mass of more than 20 tons tumbling in orbit post-separation. Which frankly, in 2021 is both avoidable and unacceptable. Thus, it had been suspected that measures were made to allow for de-orbiting the stage via upgrading the stage batteries and timing the pacification process (opening the bi-valves to remove residual propellant) so as to control the re-entry point. There were subtle clues coming from CALT on this.

Something went wrong on this one or the changes simply did not go through. In any case, the result is highly regrettable. It is impossible to argue otherwise, unless you either don't care about spaceflight or don't care about China's Space Program.

edit:

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Thus, it had been suspected that measures were made to allow for de-orbiting the stage via upgrading the stage batteries and timing the pacification process (opening the bi-valves to remove residual propellant) so as to control the re-entry point. There were subtle clues coming from CALT on this.

We don't have much information on this. It's quite possible the above measures were found to be ineffective in controlling the deorbiting of such a large payload. Or it's also possible such a measure were already in place but with the rocket stage tumbling it would be difficult or even safe to use such a measure.

Short of upgrading and modifying the LM-5B core stage with thrusters and its associated systems, the solution could be found in the 921 projects as Temstar has suggested.

 

[sinophilia]

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Looks like it’s descending at 6.5km per minute. Anyone know if there are any estimates on time to enter atmosphere? Apparently it’s altitude is moving between 170km and 372km.

 

[Xizor]

So apparently there was paint flecking off the boosters during launch? Hopefully they look into that.

Or could be ice from the condensation on the liquid oxygen tanks.

 

[anzha]

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[by78]

The core module (Tianhe)

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in the night sky.

 

[by78]

The gravitation experiment apparatus destined for the Chinese space station.