China's Space Program Thread II

[supercat]

Next-generation space suits were delivered to the space station.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1946042251613811172

 

[by78]

Mr. Chen Dong has become the third Taikonaut to have accumulated 300 days in space.

 

[by78]

China has issued a

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

to implement quality control and safety standards for the private space industry. All companies are required to establish standardized quality control and safety assurance procedures. These procedures span the gamut, from design and testing to in-orbit operations and decommissioning. Third-party institutions and independent experts are required to audit these procedures and their implementation, as well as participating in design and engineering reviews on complex projects before they get off the ground and/or leave the factory. The directive also sets out procedures for accident reporting and investigation.

 

[TheRathalos]

China has issued a

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

to implement quality control and safety standards for the private space industry. All companies are required to establish standardized quality control and safety assurance procedures. These procedures span the gamut, from design and testing to in-orbit operations and decommissioning. Third-party institutions and independent experts are required to audit these procedures and their implementation, as well as participating in design and engineering reviews on complex projects before they get off the ground and/or leave the factory. The directive also sets out procedures for accident reporting and investigation.

The commercial space projects referred to in this notice are space projects that are not included in the national and military scientific research plans, do not use central financial funds, and are invested and implemented in accordance with the market model by local governments, enterprises, institutions, social organizations, individuals and other legal persons or natural persons, and they bear the main responsibilities and risks. Other types of space projects may be implemented accordingly.

So clearly this will also apply to commercial projects and spin off/subsidiaries of the great SOE conglomerates (CASC, CASIC...) , too.

 

[mcasey]

For those interested, I just posted a new deep‑dive on the Guowang megaconstellation as a PLA C4ISR backbone—Q/V‑band and laser ISLs, ISF/ASF control split, TT&C/C2 architecture, an ASBM kill‑chain vignette, launch tempo vs ITU deadlines, and a Starlink/OneWeb/PWSA comparison.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

 

[2=GT]

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

 

[AndrewJ]

So clearly this will also apply to commercial projects and spin off/subsidiaries of the great SOE conglomerates (CASC, CASIC...) , too.

Basically all comercial space projects. Comercial or not depends on funding & payloads, including:
1) Comercial facility/rocket construction, tests, and R&D.
2) All rockets launched with comercial payloads.

Note. CZ rockets can also be bought to launch comercial payloads, which are seen more and more often these years. These missions should also be regulated with this directive.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

 

[AndrewJ]

Just another discuss about China's comercial starlink launch delay...

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Free:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

China did not yet have an equivalent to SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rocket. The Falcon 9 launches Starlink satellites at a rate of about 24 per mission, flying as often as twice a week, and serves as the backbone of SpaceX’s rapid roll-out.
In contrast, Chinese satellites are typically launched in batches of 18. Meeting the Qianfan target would require the use of nearly half of China’s total annual rocket launches – an effort that appears virtually impossible.
“Personally, I expect this shortage to last for at least another decade,” the rocket engineer said.
While five batches of Qianfan satellites lifted off from the Taiyuan and Wenchang launch centres between August 2024 and March this year, the company reportedly missed out on two of its bids for rocket contracts.
In February, the company sought to deploy 162 satellites in nine launches, a task that required a mature rocket – one with a proven flight record – that was also capable of sending 4.5 tonnes into an 800km (497-mile) orbit.
But with fewer than three bids submitted, both tenders were automatically cancelled – an outcome that did not surprise the Beijing-based rocket engineer.
“That looks like a demanding requirement to me. Only a few Long March variants produced by state-owned manufacturers can do the job. None of the main commercial rockets that technically qualify have flown successfully yet,” he said.
Adding to the challenge, these limited Long March models – such as the LM-6A, LM-8, and LM-8A – along with their launch pads, must be shared with Guowang, another 13,000-satellite broadband constellation under construction.
As a state-led project, Guowang would typically be considered a national priority, meaning that launch resources may be diverted to ensure its schedule. “In a rocket-starved environment like this, Qianfan could end up taking a back seat,” the engineer said.
In addition to the rocket shortage, a number of Qianfan satellites have had technical issues and failed to reach their intended orbit.
Like their Starlink counterparts, satellites for the Qianfan constellation are deployed at a lower altitude and rely on electric propulsion to climb to their final orbit, a strategy designed to save rocket fuel.
However, according to the latest US Air Force tracking data, 17 of the 90 deployed Qianfan satellites have yet to reach their target altitude of around 1,070km, with some lingering near 800km where they were initially released.
With 90 operational satellites, Qianfan ranks as the third-largest broadband constellation in low Earth orbit, behind Starlink and OneWeb.

 

[Tomboy]

Just another discuss about China's comercial starlink launch delay...

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Free:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

IMO, a colleague(Ex-ZTE engineer now working at a space firm) of mine I was talking to the other day about this project seems rather unimpressed with this project technologically. Said that the reason these satellites fly that high is due to using similar tech that Beidou satellites use for communication which is less efficient/advanced than Starlink.

 

[escobar]

Just another discuss about China's comercial starlink launch delay...

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Free:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

The new bidding for Qianfan sat launch has learned from the lessons of the last failed bidding and lowered the bidding threshold to allow 10 satellites being launched in a group: 4x10 sat launches (2.8t to 950km) + 3x18 (4.8t to 800km) to near-polar orbit.