China - NON-MILITARY space activities & Space Industry

[Deino]

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水调歌头·重上井冈山

毛泽东

久有凌云志，重上井冈山。
千里来寻故地，旧貌变新颜。
到处莺歌燕舞，更有潺潺流水，高路入云端。
过了黄洋界，险处不须看。

风雷动，旌旗奋，是人寰。
三十八年过去，弹指一挥间。
可上九天揽月，可下五洋捉鳖，谈笑凯歌还。
世上无难事，只要肯登攀。

Any idea, when the first image will be released?

 

[JSCh]

​

 

[sheik]

Any idea, when the first image will be released?

According to the official report, the rover will start to work in a few days after landing.
The first release will be very likely the pictures of the lander and the rover shot by each other.
I think we will see the pictures next week.

 

[LKJ86]

The 500t thrust LOX / kerosene engine for Long March 9

Via CCTV 2

 

[JSCh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1394305919215759364

Larry Teds @LarryTeds

YF-130 kerolox engine prototype. Thrust 500 tons, twin-chamber, twin-nozzle. 12 YF-130 together will provide 6000 tons thrust as the first stage of China’s Saturn-V class LM-9. Screenshot by China航天 at Sina Weibo.

In the same documentary, LM-9 LEO capacity was said to be 150 tons.

10:56 PM · May 17, 2021

 

[LKJ86]

China's core space station module Tianhe completes in-orbit tests - Xinhua | English.news.cn

China's core space station module Tianhe completes in-orbit tests
Source: Xinhua | 2021-05-18 15:15:14 | Editor: huaxia

BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- China's core space station module Tianhe has recently completed its platform function tests and entered the orbit to rendezvous and dock with the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Tuesday.

The core module, which was sent into orbit on April 29, has recently completed platform function tests for rendezvous and docking, astronaut stay and the mechanical arms, as well as in-orbit performance checks for space application project equipment.

The CMSA said the core module's various functions are normal. It is operating in good condition and has entered the orbit for rendezvous and docking. It will continue its preparations for rendezvous and docking with the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft.

 

[samsara]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1394305919215759364

Larry Teds @LarryTeds

YF-130 kerolox engine prototype. Thrust 500 tons, twin-chamber, twin-nozzle. 12 YF-130 together will provide 6000 tons thrust as the first stage of China’s Saturn-V class LM-9. Screenshot by China航天 at Sina Weibo.

In the same documentary, LM-9 LEO capacity was said to be 150 tons.

10:56 PM · May 17, 2021

And here is the corresponding CCTV-2 footage (7.5 minutes, no Engsub):

Developmental scene of 500-ton liquid oxygen kerosene high pressure supplementary combustion engine
【YF-130】500吨级液氧煤油高压补燃发动机研制画面

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1pA411g72q

 

[LKJ86]

China successfully launches new ocean observation satellite - Xinhua | English.news.cn

www.xinhuanet.com

China successfully launches new ocean observation satellite
Source: Xinhua | 2021-05-19 13:06:21 | Editor: huaxia

JIUQUAN, May 19 (Xinhua) -- China sent a new ocean-monitoring satellite on Wednesday into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

A Long March-4B rocket carrying the Haiyang-2D (HY-2D) satellite took off at 12:03 p.m. (Beijing Time), according to the launch center.

The HY-2D will form a constellation with the HY-2B and HY-2C satellites to build an all-weather and round-the-clock dynamic ocean environment monitoring system of high frequency and medium and large scale.

The constellation will support the country's early warning and prediction of marine disasters, sustainable development and utilization of ocean resources, effective response to global climate change as well as ocean research.

The HY-2D was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology, and the carrier rocket by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology.

Wednesday's launch was the 370th by the Long March rocket series.

 

[LKJ86]

 

[LKJ86]

 

[LKJ86]

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China Focus: China's Tianwen-1 probe sends back Mars landing visuals - Xinhua | English.news.cn

China's Tianwen-1 probe sends back Mars landing visuals
Source: Xinhua | 2021-05-19 20:39:51 | Editor: huaxia

BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Two photos and two videos captured by China's Mars probe Tianwen-1 during and after the country's first landing on the red planet were released by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Wednesday.

The lander carrying a rover of the Tianwen-1 mission touched down in the southern part of Utopia Planitia, a vast plain on the northern hemisphere of Mars, on May 15, becoming the country's first probe to land on a planet other than Earth.

The first photograph, a black and white image, was taken by an obstacle avoidance camera installed in front of the Mars rover. The image shows that a ramp on the lander has been extended to the surface of Mars. The terrain of the rover's forward direction is clearly visible in the image, and the horizon of Mars appears curved due to the wide-angle lens.

The second image, a color photo, was taken by the navigation camera towards the rear of the rover. The rover's solar panels and antenna are seen unfolded, and the red soil and rocks on the Martian surface are clearly visible in the image.

The probe also sent back two videos taken by a camera on the orbiter, showing how the lander and the rover separated from the orbiter during landing.

Tianwen-1, consisting of an orbiter, a lander and a rover, was launched on July 23, 2020. It was the first step in China's planetary exploration of the solar system, with the aim of completing orbiting, landing and roving on the red planet in one mission.

After landing last Saturday, the lander and rover established communication with the Earth.

On May 17, the orbiter entered orbit to relay communication between the rover and the Earth, and sent back images and data from the rover.

The rover is now making preparations for moving down from the lander onto the Martian surface, CNSA said.

 

[sheik]

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祝融号传回火星照片-新华网

祝融号传回火星照片 ---国家航天局19日发布我国首次火星探测任务天问一号探测器着陆过程两器分离和着陆后火星车拍摄的影像。

www.xinhuanet.com

The ramp on the lander as well as the solar panel wings and the antennas of the rover have been unfolded to the right position. Now the rover is in preparation for leaving the lander and starting its mission.

国家航天局19日发布我国首次火星探测任务天问一号探测器着陆过程两器分离和着陆后火星车拍摄的影像。图像中，着陆平台驶离坡道以及祝融号火星车太阳翼、天线等机构展开正常到位。目前，火星车正在开展驶离着陆平台的准备工作，将择机驶上火星表面，开始巡视探测。

 

[sheik]

China's Zhurong Mars rover takes its first photos from the surface

The first images from China’s Zhurong Mars rover show a successful landing on the surface of the Red Planet. The rover is now carrying out final preparations before leaving the landing platform and beginning its mission

www.newscientist.com

@Deino

China's Zhurong Mars rover takes its first photos from the surface

By Leah Crane and Matthew Sparkes

The rover (left) and its landing platform (right)
China National Space Administration

The first images from China’s Zhurong Mars rover show a successful landing on the surface of the Red Planet. Photos released today show the landing platform and departure ramp for the rover, as well as solar panels and antenna. The rover is now carrying out final preparations before leaving the landing platform and beginning its mission.

Zhurong is China’s first Mars rover and had been orbiting the planet aboard the Tianwen-1 spacecraft since February, before touching down on 14 May. The successful landing of the rover makes it the third country to reach the surface of the planet, following the US and the Soviet Union.

Tianwen-1 is China’s first successful interplanetary mission and the first it has attempted solo. A previous collaboration with Russia didn’t make it out of Earth’s orbit due to a rocket failure in 2011.

Over the past few months, Tianwen-1 has been taking pictures of Zhurong’s landing site in Utopia Planitia to make sure conditions there are safe. This is the same enormous impact basin where NASA’s Viking 2 lander touched down in 1976. Tianwen-1 has now entered a new orbit, establishing a stable communication link with the Mars rover to send back images.

The rover itself sits inside a lander that protected it as it fell towards Mars’s surface, slowing down with the help of a heat shield, parachutes and a set of small thrusters. The lander has now extended a ramp and Zhurong will soon roll out. Photographs show that the terrain ahead is clear.

Zhurong is about 1.8 metres tall and weighs 240 kilograms, slightly larger than NASA’s now-defunct Spirit and Opportunity rovers but much smaller than Curiosity and Perseverance, which landed earlier this year. It is powered by solar panels, which are expected to keep it moving for 90 Martian days.

The rover is designed to study Mars’s geological structure, the composition of its surface and underlying layers of rock and ice, its magnetic field and its climate. To accomplish this, Zhurong is equipped with cameras, ground-penetrating radar, a magnetic field detector, a weather station and an instrument to measure the chemical composition of the dust and rocks. The Tianwen-1 orbiter has its own set of instruments to study Mars from orbit, in addition to relaying data from the rover back to Earth.

Tianwen-1 and Zhurong are also meant as a technology demonstration, setting the stage for a planned mission in the 2030s to bring back samples from Mars.

 

[LKJ86]

 

[LKJ86]