China Outer Space Science, Technology and Explorations: News & Updates

[JSCh]

Sunday, September 17, 2017
In the Footsteps of SpaceX: Chinese Company Eyes Development of a Reusable Launch Vehicle

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One of Chinese startups appears to be following in the footsteps of SpaceX as it has lately laid out its own project of reusable space launch system. Link Space, the country’s first private rocket company, has recently presented the design of its New Line 1 (also known as Xin Gan Xian 1) launch vehicle, which could compete with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 in the future.

Link Space uncovered the design and some basic technical parameters at a recent presentation. The images revealed to the public show that the first stage of the newly developed launcher could feature similar landing system that is used in SpaceX’s flagship reusable Falcon 9 booster.

“SpaceX is very cool and Falcon 9 is extremely great, we take SpaceX as our goal and guider, because there are too many advantages for us to learn,” Hu Zhenyu, founder and CEO of Link Space Aerospace Technology Inc., told Astrowatch.net.

New Line 1 is a Small Launch Vehicle (SLV) designed for microsatellite and nanosatellite launches. It will be capable of sending up to about 440 lbs. (200 kilograms) into a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) of 155 to 342 miles (250 to 550 kilometers).

New Line 1 will be a 66-feet (20.1-meter) tall two-stage liquid rocket with a diameter of 5.9 feet (1.8 meters). With a mass of about 33 metric tons at liftoff, the launcher will have a takeoff thrust of about 400 kN. The first stage of the vehicle will consist of four liquid oxygen/kerosene engines with gas generator cycle. Each single booster will have a thrust of 100 kN.

The most important feature of the New Line 1 rocket will be obviously the reusability of its first stage, like in Falcon 9 boosters. This could greatly lower the cost of one single orbital launch.

“The launch price is about 30 million yuan ($4.5 million) for each launch (with a totally new rocket), and this rocket will have an enhanced version with increased takeoff weight. By reusing the first stage of the rocket, the launch price will be reduced to about 15 million yuan ($2.25 million),” Hu revealed.

While the New Line 1 rocket will have only one reusable stage, the company thinks big and aims to develop also a second stage that could be reused after landing. Although it is a long-term goal, Hu hopes that it could implemented in the successors of the company’s first launch vehicle.

“Perhaps the later version, such as New Line 2 or 3, will have such a capacity,” Hu said.

Founded in 2014, Link Space is a Beijing-based startup with no government or military background. In July 2016, the company achieved rocket hover flight with a single vector-thrust-engine for the first time in China. The firm is currently developing key technology for space industry, including variable thrust liquid rocket engine, vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) rocket flight platform, flight control algorithm and control system, hover flight test process, servo actuator and many others.

Until September 2017, Link Space have developed three hover rockets, repeated flight test more than 200 times, accumulated a lot of experimental data and engineering experience. The company utilizes rocket flight test field which is located in Shandong Province covering 53,800 square feet (5,000 square meters) - the biggest commercial rocket test field in China for large thrust liquid engine and rocket flight test.

According to Hu, the development of the New Line 1 launch vehicle will consume about 300 million yuan ($45 million) and the maiden flight of the rocket could be conducted as soon as 2020.

“The first orbital flight of New Line 1 is planned in 2020, which is an optimistic estimation because we know it's hard, and we plan to develop most of the core technology all by ourselves, such as deep-variable-thrust liquid rocket engine, flight control system, landing systems and so on,” Hu noted.

Link Space hopes that the New Line 1 rocket will attract the interest of commercial companies worldwide. The company also believes that the launch vehicle will also carry out some missions for the Chinese government.

So far, SpaceX is the only company to recover a rocket following an orbital launch. Few months ago, Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, encouraged other companies to develop their own reusable orbital rockets. Now, Link Space’s bold plans show that it could be only a matter of few years when SpaceX’s monopoly in this field could be broken up.

“We also believe that a good technical trend should not belong to a single company, and Elon has said that the reusable rocket is certain to be more and more common. In fact, a lot of similar programs are very different in detail. Although it looks similar in appearance, if you want to make it really work, you must do everything from zero to design and manufacture the whole rocket,” Hu concluded.



Astronomy and Space News - Astro Watch: In the Footsteps of SpaceX: Chinese Company Eyes Development of a Reusable Launch Vehicle

 

[Keel]

Top scientist behind world's largest telescope dies
By Gong Zhe
2017-09-16 23:19 GMT+8

Nan Rendong, the popular astronomer in China and researcher at Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has died from illness Friday night at the age of 72 in Beijing.

He was the leading engineer of China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST).

The obituary for Nan made to the front page of CAS website. /Screenshot from CAS

"Mr. Nan Rendong lived a simple life, with little desire for reputation," said an obituary published on CAS website.

"He made an extraordinary contribution to China's astronomy research," CAS added.

As mentioned in Nan's will, his funeral will be simple with no event held.

Some top comments and candles about Nan's death /Screenshot from Weibo

People on social media lit up virtual candles to show their grief.

"The FAST needs a name in Chinese. I suggest calling it after Nan," a person nicknamed "Sturman" commented, who got nearly a hundred comments.

Nan and the FAST

Nan is the founder and major contributor to FAST, the world's largest telescope located in southwestern China's Guizhou Province.

The telescope, launched about a year ago, is as large as 30 soccer fields and capable of detecting intelligent extraterrestrial life in remote galaxies.

The FAST /Xinhua Photo

As the leading engineer, he drafted the plan, monitored the building process and overcame many technical troubles for the telescope.

"He owns the giant machine," said his assistant Jiang Peng.

"Usually, one person can only master one thing. But Nan knows almost everything about the telescope," Jiang added.

"He even knows visual art. He designed the logo for FAST."

FAST is currently under calibration and expected to go into a trial run later this year.

RIP Comrade!
You are our Hero!

 

[Adam WANG SHANGHAI MEGA]

WAY to go CHINA ZHONGGUO!

 

[Beast]

Top scientist behind world's largest telescope dies
By Gong Zhe
2017-09-16 23:19 GMT+8

Nan Rendong, the popular astronomer in China and researcher at Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has died from illness Friday night at the age of 72 in Beijing.

He was the leading engineer of China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST).

The obituary for Nan made to the front page of CAS website. /Screenshot from CAS

"Mr. Nan Rendong lived a simple life, with little desire for reputation," said an obituary published on CAS website.

"He made an extraordinary contribution to China's astronomy research," CAS added.

As mentioned in Nan's will, his funeral will be simple with no event held.

Some top comments and candles about Nan's death /Screenshot from Weibo

People on social media lit up virtual candles to show their grief.

"The FAST needs a name in Chinese. I suggest calling it after Nan," a person nicknamed "Sturman" commented, who got nearly a hundred comments.

Nan and the FAST

Nan is the founder and major contributor to FAST, the world's largest telescope located in southwestern China's Guizhou Province.

The telescope, launched about a year ago, is as large as 30 soccer fields and capable of detecting intelligent extraterrestrial life in remote galaxies.

The FAST /Xinhua Photo

As the leading engineer, he drafted the plan, monitored the building process and overcame many technical troubles for the telescope.

"He owns the giant machine," said his assistant Jiang Peng.

"Usually, one person can only master one thing. But Nan knows almost everything about the telescope," Jiang added.

"He even knows visual art. He designed the logo for FAST."

FAST is currently under calibration and expected to go into a trial run later this year.

Age 72 to die is quite young in China. What kind of illness?

 

[JSCh]

Age 72 to die is quite young in China. What kind of illness?

Lung cancer diagnosed in 2015.

 

[AndrewJin]

Age 72 to die is quite young in China. What kind of illness?

Yes, 72 is young.
I could figure out something went wrong with his voice in those videos.
But I did not know he had cancer.
Now I understand why he said life was too short, he said he would work harder.

RIP
Most condolescne to his family and his colleagues

 

[JSCh]

Mars probe to carry 13 types of payload on 2020 mission
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-20 18:27:25|Editor: Song Lifang

BEIJING, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's Mars probe will carry 13 types of payload, including six rovers, in its first mission to the planet, scheduled for 2020.

"The Mars exploration program is well underway," said Zhang Rongqiao, chief architect of the Mars mission, at the Beijing International Forum on Lunar and Deep-space Exploration, which opened Wednesday. "The payloads will be used to collect data on the environment, morphology, surface structure and atmosphere of Mars."

China plans to send a spacecraft to orbit, land and deploy a rover on Mars in 2020. The probe will be launched on a Long March-5 carrier rocket from the Wenchang space launch center in southern China's Hainan Province.

The lander will separate from the orbiter at the end of a journey of around seven months and touch down in a low latitude area in the northern hemisphere of Mars where the rover will explore the surface.

 

[Galactic Penguin SST]

China's Mars, Asteroid, Jupiter and Uranus Exploration Program

Asteroid and Jupiter exploration mission to be decided by 2020, with the goal of reaching the Jupiter system by 2036, and reach Uranus by 2048.

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It's our great pleasure to welcome you to the 3rd Beijing International Forum on Lunar and Deep-space Exploration (LDSE 2017), which is governed and organized by Chinese Academy of Sciences. LDSE2017 will be held in Beijing Conference Center, China, on September 19-22, 2017.

The main themes of LDSE2017 contains:

1. The exploration programs on the Moon, Mars and asteroids for the main space countries (or organizations) before 2030;

2. etc...

We look forward to welcoming you in Beijing.

Ouyang Ziyuan

General Chair of Science and Technology Committee of LDSE

http://ldse2017.csp.escience.cn/dct/page/1

​

中国“深空天路”展望2030年

《光明日报》（ 2017年09月21日 09版）

Spoiler: Links

http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2017-09/20/1121694869_15058848052021n.jpg
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2017-09/20/c_1121694869.htm

▲ 中国月球探测工程首席科学家，中国科学院院士欧阳自远致辞

9月20日，第三届北京月球与深空探测国际论坛开幕。论坛由中国科学院主办、中国科学院月球与深空探测总体部承办，在为期三天的时间里，来自中国、美国、法国、德国、俄罗斯、日本等国家和地区的科学家，将围绕2030年前主要航天国家（组织）关于月球、火星和小行星探测规划，行星科学研究的新进展和未来五年到十年的热点问题，月球和其他地外天体返回样品研究的方法、手段和科学进展，深空探测新方法与有效载荷新技术等内容进行研讨。

研讨会上，中国的航天计划成为大家关注的焦点。展望2030年，中国深空探测有哪些重点和热点呢？

火星：深空探测的重点

火星是离地球较近且环境最相似的星球，中国首次火星探测任务总设计师张荣桥说：“火星探测是人类进行深空探测的首选目标。”火星是地球的过去？或者将是地球的未来？张荣桥介绍，深化对火星演变的认识，可以为保护地球、扩展人类生存疆域进行探索。

探索火星在工程上也更可实现。张荣桥介绍，火星具有可达性——基于人类现有的航天能力，飞行8-10个月的时间可从地球到达火星，任务周期比较合适。对人类而言，火星也具有环境可适应性——火星具有与地球最接近的环境，让机器人或人类生活在火星成为可能。

张荣桥说：“中国的首次火星探测计划正在稳步推进。”他介绍，经过历次论证，火星探测方案正在逐步深化、细化，目前搭载的有效载荷已经确定，“我国首次火星探测工程探测器总共有13种有效载荷，其中环绕器7种、火星车6种”。目前，已经开展科学目标的预先研究，例如制定研究方法、建立模型等，“有数据后，争取尽快出成果、出好成果”。

小行星：深空探测的热点

小行星被称为太阳系起源的“活化石”，保存着太阳系形成、演化的原始信息，是国际深空探测的热点。

张荣桥介绍，在地球历史上曾多次发生过小行星撞击地球的事件，导致地球环境灾变和生物灭绝，直接威胁人类的生存和发展。“通过小行星探测，可以加深我们对小天体的轨道演化、内部结构等的认识，探究应对小天体撞击的技术途径，有助于回答公众的关切。”张荣桥说：“同时，探索小行星的工程实施还将带动航天技术的智能化、精细化发展。”

中国科学院国家天文台欧阳自远院士介绍，到目前为止，我国还没有批准小行星探测计划。科学家将进一步论证方案，希望能在2020年以后向国家申请小行星探测计划。

木星系及行星穿越：深空探测的亮点

人类对木星系及其以远的探测相对较少，已有的探测表明木星和土星的一些卫星上具备可能产生生命的条件，蕴含着大量的原创性重大科学发现的机会。张荣桥认为，木星系探测和行星穿越也是中国深空探测的重要方向，也将是未来一段时间人类深空探测的亮点。

对木星系探测也将推动航天技术的“深远”发展，张荣桥说：“木星系探测的技术难度更大，要求航天技术开发新能源，延长设计寿命，对远距离测控、自主管控等技术也将提出更多要求。”

张荣桥介绍，木星系探测及行星穿越目前还在进一步论证中，希望能在2025年-2030年之间得到国家支持，并在2036年左右到达木星。2030年之后，科学家们希望能够开展更精细、更深远的机器人深空探测，并在2048年左右到达天王星。


http://epaper.gmw.cn/gmrb/html/2017-09/21/nw.D110000gmrb_20170921_1-09.htm

 

[JSCh]

‘World’s biggest planetarium’ coming to Pudong
By Natalie Ma | 00:01 UTC+8 September 22, 2017 |

Print Edition

SHANGHAI Planetarium is reaching for the stars.

By the time it is built, it will be the world's biggest planetarium, according to Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, which will run it.

The structure of the main building will be finished before next February, and the whole complex will be ready by the end of next year, officials said.

Located in Xincheng Town of Pudong’s Nanhui area, the planetarium comprises a main building, a solar tower, a youth observation base and a public observatory.

Xu Xiaohong, director of the planetarium’s construction department, said 85 percent of the main structure had already been completed.

From the observatory, space enthusiasts will be able to look through an astronomical telescope to observe the solar system.

“This telescope will also have research functions,” said Shi Wei, director of the planetarium’s exhibition and education department.

“It will be open to students to support their research projects. We will also build up a database and provide pictures taken by the astronomical telescope to astronomy fans.”

Shi recently discovered a nova on September 2 when he was taking part in a “popular supernova project” this month. It was the first nova to be discovered by a Shanghai-based astronomy follower this year.

Shi found the nova after making a comparison of pictures taken by an astronomical telescope in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The discovery received a credential certification on September 13 after a spectrum of the nova candidate was obtained by a telescope located in Spain.

The spectrum confirmed Shi’s discovery to be a classical nova eruption in M31 — 2.5 million light years away from Earth.

“A lot of nova and super nova were discovered by astronomy fans and amateurs,” said Shi. “The astronomical telescope to be installed at the Shanghai Planetarium will also provide local fans with such opportunities.”

Meanwhile, Shanghai Science and Technology Museum announced that it will present a Starry Sky Illumination exhibition starting from Tuesday.

 

[JSCh]

China is sending one of the most powerful deep space cameras to Mars
by Andrew Jones Sep 21, 2017 16:56

The orbiter for China’s 2020 Mars mission will carry a powerful high-resolution camera which will boost understanding of the Red Planet and help with planning for future missions.

China will launch its first independent interplanetary mission in summer 2020 with a Long March 5 rocket, ambitiously attempting to send the orbiter to the Red Planet together with a lander and rover in one go.

Aboard the orbiter will be the Mars High-resolution Camera (MHC), which will have a maximum resolution of 0.5m per pixel at an altitude of 260 km above the Martian surface - the expected periapsis, or low point in the orbit - making it comparable to NASA’s HiRise imager.

While HiRise, currently in orbit aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), can return images at a greater resolution of 25 cm per pixel, China’s MHC will offer larger areal coverage, with a 9 km swath versus a 6 km swath for HiRISE.

The specifications for the 40 kg MHC imager were presented at the international forum on Lunar and Deep Space Exploration in Beijing this week.

An artist impression of China's combined orbiter, lander and rover spacecraft headed for Mars, released in August 2016. Xinhua

The instrument is being developed by the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics (CIOMP) in the country's northeast province of Jilin, which operates under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The MHC is currently in the manufacturing and alignment phase.

'Great asset'
Dr Tanya Harrison, a planetary scientist and Director of Research for Arizona State University's Space Technology and Science, says the MHC will make an important contribution.

"This will be a great asset to have in orbit at Mars to increase our high resolution coverage to look at things like change monitoring, including phenomena such as dune movement, gully activity, polar avalanches, and future landing site characterisation," Dr Harrison says.

A Mars sample return, to follow in the late 2020s, is also part of China's deep space exploration roadmap, and the MHC would be invaluable in analysing candidate landing sites.

"It's not only a good compliment to the imagers aboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and ESA's ExoMars Orbiter, but it will be good to have another high-res camera in orbit at the time the Mars 2020 [NASA mission] is operating since MRO is over a decade old at this point," Dr Harrison points out.

HiRISE being prepared before it is shipped for attachment to the MRO spacecraft. NASA/JPL

HiRise has returned over a quarter of a million images, many of them stunning.

One issue yet unclear is if and how China will release and share the images publicly in a timely manner.

NASA's Opportunity and Curiosity rovers are still working on the Martian surface and returning great science, and they will be joined by a number of new missions due to launch in the 2020 window.

Potentially touching down in early 2021 will be NASA's Mars 2020 rover, the Chinese rover, the ExoMars 2020 rover involving the European Space Agency and Russia, and an Indian rover - Mangalyaan 2 - following up its 2013 success with the Mars Orbiter Mission.

New payloads, new challenges
China's mission will include 13 payloads, including a ground penetrating radar on the rover. A similar instrument allowed China’s Yutu rover to image around 400m below the lunar surface, making intriguing discoveries about the composition and history of the Moon, such as evidence of volcanic floods.

Another instrument expected on the orbiter is a spectrometer calibrated for detecting methane, the presence of which may indicate biological processes occurring on Mars.

China successfully soft-landed on the Moon in December 2013, and will use some of the experience and technology from the Chang'e-3 mission for the much trickier Martian landing.

Ye Peijian, a senior figure within China's space programme, states that the greater velocity, the thin but hazardous Martian atmosphere, and the remoteness of the planet pose addition hurdles.

China in 2016 tested a supersonic parachute which will be used to slow the lander's descent to the surface.

As such Zhang Rongqiao, chief architect of the mission, told press in Beijing on Wednesday that, "the Mars exploration program is well underway."



China is sending one of the most powerful deep space cameras to Mars | gbtimes.com

 

[JSCh]

China's cargo spacecraft leaves orbit
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-22 19:16:56|Editor: Zhou Xin



BEIJING, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- China's first cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou-1, left its orbit under orders from ground control around 6 p.m. Friday.

The cargo ship twice put on the breaks, continuously lowering its altitude before burning-up in the atmosphere, all under precise control and close monitoring from the ground.

Before leaving orbit, Tianzhou-1 had completed a number of experiments, gaining important experience for the building and operating of China's space station.

Tianzhou-1 was launched on April 20 from south China's Hainan Province, and completed automated docking with the orbiting Tiangong-2 space lab on April 22.

The two spacecraft completed their first in-orbit refueling on April 27, a second refueling on June 15 and a final one on September 16. In the past five months, Tianzhou-1 has operated smoothly, completing various tasks.

 

[JSCh]

China to launch 24 microsatellites to study Gamma-ray bursts
2017-09-22 21:03 GMT+8

China's Tsinghua University has unveiled a plan to launch 24 microsatellites between 2018 and 2023 to detect short Gamma-ray bursts and help the study of gravitational waves.

This program was jointly initiated by the university and Spacety Research Institute, a Chinese space technology company, according to the university on Friday.

Short Gamma-ray bursts are considered to be electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational waves, the ripples in the fabric of space-time caused by violent collisions in the universe predicted by Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity.

Tsinghua University of China /Xinhua Photo

In 2016, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the United States announced the first observation of gravitational waves.

Scientists believe that more accurate measuring and study of gravitational waves will help in exploring the origin of the universe.

As part of the program, microsatellites, also known as cube satellites, will carry scintillation detectors to detect and locate short Gamma-ray bursts and narrow the search scope for gravitational waves, said Feng Hua, a professor at the Tsinghua Center for Astrophysics.

Feng said the program was first proposed by students and it has completed an initial scientific appraisal.

Spacety is in charge of the majority of engineering work for the program, according to Yang Feng, CEO of Spacety.

Research and production for the first satellite for technical testing will be finished by the end of this year and is expected to be launched in 2018, Yang said.

 

[JSCh]

ESA and Chinese astronauts train together
European Space Agency, ESA
Published on Sep 22, 2017

ESA astronauts Samantha Cristoforetti and Matthias Maurer joined Chinese astronauts last month for nine days of sea survival training off China’s coastal city of Yantai.

This is the first time ESA astronauts have trained in China and stems from the 2015 agreement to boost collaboration between ESA and China Manned Space Agency, with the goal of flying European astronauts on the Chinese space station from 2022.

This video, filmed by the Astronaut Center of China, shows the first joint training, with interviews of ESA participants in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.

Footage credit: ACC (Astronaut Center of China)

 

[JSCh]

Pictures from InnoTech Expo 2017.

The expo at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, "Displaying China's Civilization of Technology & Its Latest Innovation," will run from September 24 until October 2.

CZ-7 complete with launch pad

Tianzhou-1 cargo spacecraft

 

[JSCh]

China to launch 24 microsatellites to study Gamma-ray bursts
2017-09-22 21:03 GMT+8

China's Tsinghua University has unveiled a plan to launch 24 microsatellites between 2018 and 2023 to detect short Gamma-ray bursts and help the study of gravitational waves.

This program was jointly initiated by the university and Spacety Research Institute, a Chinese space technology company, according to the university on Friday.