China Outer Space Science, Technology and Explorations: News & Updates
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China's opening a factory to build engines for hypersonic missiles and spaceplanes
Reconnaissance and strike capabilities of aircrafts with these engines could upend air combat and strategies around the world.
By Jeffrey Lin and P.W. Singer 5 hours ago
I PLANE
The hypersonic I Plane has a unique biplane configuration to increase its payload and reduce drag.
China Science Press
The Institute of Mechanics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences is building a factory for the commercial production of hypersonic engines, a game-changing technology with both military and civilian applications.
The institute's scramjet lead scientist, Fan Xuejun, told the South China Morning Post that the factory in Hefei, Anhui Province, would make a wide range of hypersonic engines, and that the state-owned enterprise in charge of the operation will be eventually open up to private investors.
TRRE
The turbo-aided rocket-augmented ram/scramjet engine (TRRE), which uses rocket augmentation to aid the transition into the supersonic and hypersonic flight regimes, could be the world's first combined cycle engine to fly in 2025, paving the way for hypersonic near-space planes and single-stage space launchers.
Beijing Power Machinery Research Institute
So what is a scramjet? It's an air-breathing jet engine that lets air flow through faster than the speed of sound. This allows the aircraft to reach hypersonic speeds (Mach 5+) that traditional ramjets, whose forward motion compresses the airflow to subsonic speeds, cannot.
The scramjets built in the Hefei factory will likely be part of a Turbo Rocket Combined Cycle (TRCC) engine, which uses (1) a turbofan jet engine for subsonic and low supersonic speeds, (2) a ramjet engine to transition into scramjet mode, and (3) a rocket engine for the highest speed. A TRCC engine would allow for reusable hypersonic aircraft, which would lower operating costs.
WS-10A
The WS-10A, which powers the J-11 heavy fighters, is China's first operational low-bypass, afterburning turbofan engine. It can be distinguished from the AL-31 by the triangular petals on its rear interior, which help manipulate exhaust flow.
Errymath
As plans are already being drawn for the factory construction, it is likely that the first TRCC engine will use an operational Chinese turbofan, either the WS-10 or WS-118.
The WS-10 engine, which has a maximum thrust of around 13 tons, is used by the J-11 and J-16 fighters. The WS-118, a copy of the Soviet D-30 engine, could be modified with an afterburner to achieve supersonic performance. As Chinese engine technology improves, the supercruise-capable WS-15, which has supersonic performance without fuel-thirsty afterburners, could be the springboard for future TRCC engines.
It's unclear when exactly Hefei will start churning out hypersonic engines. What is clear: TRCC scramjet engines would be a boon for the Chinese military. This tech makes the production of long-range hypersonic aircraft—the kind that can fly in near-space and outrun and outmaneuver existing air defenses—much more feasible. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that reconnaissance and strike capabilities of such aircrafts, if built, would upend air combat and strategic doctrine around the world.
TENGYUN
The Tengyun, which has a rocket/TRCC-powered first stage hypersonic plane, launches a reusable second-stage rocket spaceplane from the stratosphere.
CCTV
On the civilian front, the production of hypersonic aircraft would redefine the reusable space launch market. These engines could pave the way for reusable aircraft to cheaply launch satellites and people into space. Initially, the hypersonic engines would likely power the first stage of Chinese dual-stage-to-orbit (DSTO) spaceplanes that reach hypersonic speed to launch a secondary rocket to orbit. The Tengyun, built by the Chinese Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) is one such planned Chinese DSTO system. The Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Company (CASC) has plans for a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) spaceplane to start flight after 2030, with powerful enough rocket engines to fly the entire aircraft straight to orbit.
https://www.popsci.com/chinas-hypersonic-engine-factory#page-3
Reconnaissance and strike capabilities of aircrafts with these engines could upend air combat and strategies around the world.
By Jeffrey Lin and P.W. Singer 5 hours ago
I PLANE
The hypersonic I Plane has a unique biplane configuration to increase its payload and reduce drag.
China Science Press
The Institute of Mechanics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences is building a factory for the commercial production of hypersonic engines, a game-changing technology with both military and civilian applications.
The institute's scramjet lead scientist, Fan Xuejun, told the South China Morning Post that the factory in Hefei, Anhui Province, would make a wide range of hypersonic engines, and that the state-owned enterprise in charge of the operation will be eventually open up to private investors.
TRRE
The turbo-aided rocket-augmented ram/scramjet engine (TRRE), which uses rocket augmentation to aid the transition into the supersonic and hypersonic flight regimes, could be the world's first combined cycle engine to fly in 2025, paving the way for hypersonic near-space planes and single-stage space launchers.
Beijing Power Machinery Research Institute
So what is a scramjet? It's an air-breathing jet engine that lets air flow through faster than the speed of sound. This allows the aircraft to reach hypersonic speeds (Mach 5+) that traditional ramjets, whose forward motion compresses the airflow to subsonic speeds, cannot.
The scramjets built in the Hefei factory will likely be part of a Turbo Rocket Combined Cycle (TRCC) engine, which uses (1) a turbofan jet engine for subsonic and low supersonic speeds, (2) a ramjet engine to transition into scramjet mode, and (3) a rocket engine for the highest speed. A TRCC engine would allow for reusable hypersonic aircraft, which would lower operating costs.
WS-10A
The WS-10A, which powers the J-11 heavy fighters, is China's first operational low-bypass, afterburning turbofan engine. It can be distinguished from the AL-31 by the triangular petals on its rear interior, which help manipulate exhaust flow.
Errymath
As plans are already being drawn for the factory construction, it is likely that the first TRCC engine will use an operational Chinese turbofan, either the WS-10 or WS-118.
The WS-10 engine, which has a maximum thrust of around 13 tons, is used by the J-11 and J-16 fighters. The WS-118, a copy of the Soviet D-30 engine, could be modified with an afterburner to achieve supersonic performance. As Chinese engine technology improves, the supercruise-capable WS-15, which has supersonic performance without fuel-thirsty afterburners, could be the springboard for future TRCC engines.
It's unclear when exactly Hefei will start churning out hypersonic engines. What is clear: TRCC scramjet engines would be a boon for the Chinese military. This tech makes the production of long-range hypersonic aircraft—the kind that can fly in near-space and outrun and outmaneuver existing air defenses—much more feasible. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that reconnaissance and strike capabilities of such aircrafts, if built, would upend air combat and strategic doctrine around the world.
TENGYUN
The Tengyun, which has a rocket/TRCC-powered first stage hypersonic plane, launches a reusable second-stage rocket spaceplane from the stratosphere.
CCTV
On the civilian front, the production of hypersonic aircraft would redefine the reusable space launch market. These engines could pave the way for reusable aircraft to cheaply launch satellites and people into space. Initially, the hypersonic engines would likely power the first stage of Chinese dual-stage-to-orbit (DSTO) spaceplanes that reach hypersonic speed to launch a secondary rocket to orbit. The Tengyun, built by the Chinese Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) is one such planned Chinese DSTO system. The Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Company (CASC) has plans for a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) spaceplane to start flight after 2030, with powerful enough rocket engines to fly the entire aircraft straight to orbit.
https://www.popsci.com/chinas-hypersonic-engine-factory#page-3
JSCh
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Wenchang Launch Center Unveils Supercomputer Plans to Research Satellite Applications
DOU SHICONG
DATE: THU, 05/03/2018 - 13:04 / SOURCE:YICAI
Wenchang Launch Center Unveils Supercomputer Plans to Research Satellite Applications
(Yicai Global) May 3 -- The city government of Wenchang, home to one of China’s four satellite launch centers, has unveiled plans for an aerospace supercomputing center as it looks to push research and development of satellite applications.
Construction for the first phase of the project, which requires total investment of CNY5 billion (USD786 million), will begin in November, according to a document published by the local government.
The center will meet demand for supercomputing and data analysis over the next five years at the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Hainan province, the first built on a Chinese coast, the document added. It will cover satellite launches, remote sensing, commercial spaceflight, aerospace, bioscience and equipment manufacturing.
The hub will span 30,000 square meters, housing 1,800 servers and more than 2.5 million processors to compute 2.5 quadrillion floating point operations per second (a computing speed of 2.5 petaflops). It will also host four industrial parks for aerospace information technologies, data, equipment design and bioscience, with a shared functional area for industrial development and a base for headquarters.
Wenchang is one of the lowest-altitude launch centers in the world and entered operation in 2014 to launch synchronous orbit satellites, space stations and deep space explorers.
DOU SHICONG
DATE: THU, 05/03/2018 - 13:04 / SOURCE:YICAI
(Yicai Global) May 3 -- The city government of Wenchang, home to one of China’s four satellite launch centers, has unveiled plans for an aerospace supercomputing center as it looks to push research and development of satellite applications.
Construction for the first phase of the project, which requires total investment of CNY5 billion (USD786 million), will begin in November, according to a document published by the local government.
The center will meet demand for supercomputing and data analysis over the next five years at the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Hainan province, the first built on a Chinese coast, the document added. It will cover satellite launches, remote sensing, commercial spaceflight, aerospace, bioscience and equipment manufacturing.
The hub will span 30,000 square meters, housing 1,800 servers and more than 2.5 million processors to compute 2.5 quadrillion floating point operations per second (a computing speed of 2.5 petaflops). It will also host four industrial parks for aerospace information technologies, data, equipment design and bioscience, with a shared functional area for industrial development and a base for headquarters.
Wenchang is one of the lowest-altitude launch centers in the world and entered operation in 2014 to launch synchronous orbit satellites, space stations and deep space explorers.
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China completes design of graphene composite film for light propulsion
By Deyana Goh
May 3, 2018
China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), the rocket development arm of the Chinese space programme, revealed that it has designed a graphene composite film suitable for use in light-propelled spacecraft.
This is part of CALT’s research on graphene-based spacecraft propulsion, a new technology that converts light into electrical energy. The method utilizes a technology similar to the solar sail, which was already tested by Japan’s space agency JAXA during its IKAROS mission to Venus. Unlike the solar sail, however, the graphene sail will not use thin-film solar cells, but will instead be covered with graphene film, a two-dimensional material known for its strength and conductivity.
Like the solar sail, graphene-based propulsion will use radiation pressure, making use of solar energy for propulsion. However, according to CALT, research in China has shown that graphene can be up to 1000 times more effective.
Said Song Shenju, from CALT’s R&D centre, “Graphene propulsion will revolutionze the design of propulsion systems, and will open yet another door for humanity to explore outer space. However, the technology is still in its development phase and is still a long way from a prototype.”
The idea of graphene propulsion was first put forward in a paper published in 2015 by researchers from Nankai University, Tianjin. Currently, aside from China, the European Space Agency (ESA) is also researching the idea of graphene solar sails, in collaboration with the Graphene Flagship, a €1 billion EU research initiative.
China completes design of graphene composite film for light propulsion | SpaceTech Asia
----------------------------
Video from 2015
By Deyana Goh
May 3, 2018
China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), the rocket development arm of the Chinese space programme, revealed that it has designed a graphene composite film suitable for use in light-propelled spacecraft.
This is part of CALT’s research on graphene-based spacecraft propulsion, a new technology that converts light into electrical energy. The method utilizes a technology similar to the solar sail, which was already tested by Japan’s space agency JAXA during its IKAROS mission to Venus. Unlike the solar sail, however, the graphene sail will not use thin-film solar cells, but will instead be covered with graphene film, a two-dimensional material known for its strength and conductivity.
Like the solar sail, graphene-based propulsion will use radiation pressure, making use of solar energy for propulsion. However, according to CALT, research in China has shown that graphene can be up to 1000 times more effective.
Said Song Shenju, from CALT’s R&D centre, “Graphene propulsion will revolutionze the design of propulsion systems, and will open yet another door for humanity to explore outer space. However, the technology is still in its development phase and is still a long way from a prototype.”
The idea of graphene propulsion was first put forward in a paper published in 2015 by researchers from Nankai University, Tianjin. Currently, aside from China, the European Space Agency (ESA) is also researching the idea of graphene solar sails, in collaboration with the Graphene Flagship, a €1 billion EU research initiative.
China completes design of graphene composite film for light propulsion | SpaceTech Asia
----------------------------
Video from 2015
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LKJ86
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China's communication satellites occupy niche in world market
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-04 10:37:10|Editor: Yurou
BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday sent a new APSTAR-6C communication satellite into orbit for Hong Kong-based APT Satellite Co., Ltd.
It was China's 10th commercial communication satellite for export, and the second entire Chinese satellite sold to a mainstream international satellite operator, according to the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), which produced the satellite.
It will replace the still operating APSTAR-6 satellite to provide broadcasting and communication services to customers in the Asia-Pacific region.
The APSTAR-6C features more advanced functions than its predecessor, said Wei Qiang, chief designer of the satellite.
According to the APT Satellite website, before the launch of APSTAR-6C, the company was operating four satellites in orbit: APSTAR-5, APSTAR-6 and APSTAR-7, which were developed by U.S. and European producers; and APSTAR-9, developed by China's CAST.
APSTAR-9, which was launched on Oct. 17, 2015, has been working well for the company, says APT Satellite, which expects the new satellite to provide more choice for its international customers.
The company plans to launch another three or four satellites to form a global broadband satellite network.
CAST has a contract with the company to produce the APSTAR-6D, which will be based on an improved version of China's DFH-4 satellite platform.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-04 10:37:10|Editor: Yurou
BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday sent a new APSTAR-6C communication satellite into orbit for Hong Kong-based APT Satellite Co., Ltd.
It was China's 10th commercial communication satellite for export, and the second entire Chinese satellite sold to a mainstream international satellite operator, according to the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), which produced the satellite.
It will replace the still operating APSTAR-6 satellite to provide broadcasting and communication services to customers in the Asia-Pacific region.
The APSTAR-6C features more advanced functions than its predecessor, said Wei Qiang, chief designer of the satellite.
According to the APT Satellite website, before the launch of APSTAR-6C, the company was operating four satellites in orbit: APSTAR-5, APSTAR-6 and APSTAR-7, which were developed by U.S. and European producers; and APSTAR-9, developed by China's CAST.
APSTAR-9, which was launched on Oct. 17, 2015, has been working well for the company, says APT Satellite, which expects the new satellite to provide more choice for its international customers.
The company plans to launch another three or four satellites to form a global broadband satellite network.
CAST has a contract with the company to produce the APSTAR-6D, which will be based on an improved version of China's DFH-4 satellite platform.
JSCh
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First photoset released by Zhuhai-1 satellites.China航天
13分钟前 来自 Android
4月26日12点42分酒泉卫星发射中心用长征11号以一箭五星方式发射欧比特第二组卫星（多彩贵州）
At 12:42 on April 26th, the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center used the Long March 11 to launch Zhuhai-1 second set of five-satellites (colorful Guizhou)
China launches Zhuhai-1 remote sensing satellites
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-26 15:34:14|Editor: ZX
JIUQUAN, April 26 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday sent five Zhuhai-1 remote sensing satellites into space on a single carrier rocket.
The Long March-11 carrier rocket lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 12:42 p.m. The launch was the 272nd flight mission for the Long March series of carrier rockets.
Zhuhai-1 is a commercial remote sensing satellite constellation invested in by Zhuhai Orbita Aerospace Science and Technology Co. It will provide data services for areas including agriculture, land and water resources, environmental protection and transport.
China launched two Zhuhai-1 satellites on June 15, 2017.
上图为意大利阿雷佐区域的高光谱图像
（32个波段高光谱立方图）
（植被覆盖分布情况）
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Nation's first private carrier rocket awaits flight
By ZHAO LEI | China Daily | Updated: 2018-05-04 07:16
Artist's illustration shows 6-meter-tall OS-X0. CHINA DAILY
While SpaceX is leading the trend of commercial spaceflight in the United States, China's first private rocket producer is quietly preparing for what it calls the first flight of a carrier rocket designed and made completely by a private company from China.
Shu Chang, founder and chief executive of OneSpace Technology, a privately owned startup in Beijing that develops and builds carrier rockets, said in an exclusive interview that the maiden launch of the company's OS-X0 solid-fuel rocket is set to take place in May at a test field in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.
Engineers at OneSpace have finished most of the testing on the rocket, which was recently transported from the company's manufacturing facility in Beijing to the test field, he said.
"We designed and made the rocket, including its engine, on our own, and no one has done so before us, so it is fair to call it the first privately developed Chinese rocket," Shu said. "Once the test flights prove successful, the OS-X series will be tasked with performing technological demonstration flights for testing new types of aircraft or spacecraft."
Many domestic institutes have designed new concepts of aircraft and spacecraft, he explained, and these futuristic craft need to have test flights done atop a rocket to verify their aerodynamic designs, creating huge opportunities for Shu's rockets.
"The market prospects for the OS-X family are very good－it has been scheduled to make three to four launches within this year on orders from domestic clients," Shu said, adding that OneSpace expects up to 10 missions for such rockets in 2019.
The company says the 6-meter-tall OS-X0 is capable of placing 100-kilogram payloads into an orbit 800 kilometers above Earth. The rocket can accelerate new concept craft it's testing to a hypersonic speed of Mach 13, or 4.4 kilometers per second.
Established in 2015, a year now widely deemed the opening chapter of China's commercial space industry, OneSpace has become a rising star in the country's space arena, which has long been dominated by State-owned contractors. Its rapid growth has been possible thanks to government endeavors to foster the commercial space sector and encourage participation from private enterprises.
Another advantage lies in the fact that State-owned space giants focus most of their attention and resources on the medium-sized and large rockets that are launch vehicles for government-backed, heavyweight spacecraft.
That leaves considerable market share for small rockets made by private firms.
Shu said his company is developing the OS-M1, a larger rocket, to send small satellites into sun-synchronous or low-Earth orbits. He said it will be "the lowest-cost small rocket in the world".
OneSpace plans to conduct OS-M1's first flight around year's end, but that depends on a government-run space launch center the company wants to use for that mission, he said.
"There are many producers of small or mini satellites in the international market, but the number of rocket providers is very small. Many foreign firms have reached out to us to discuss using our rockets to lift their satellites," Shu said.
OneSpace rockets' major competitor in the global market is India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, commonly known as PSLV, which has gained credence as a small satellite launcher, he said.
By ZHAO LEI | China Daily | Updated: 2018-05-04 07:16
Artist's illustration shows 6-meter-tall OS-X0. CHINA DAILY
While SpaceX is leading the trend of commercial spaceflight in the United States, China's first private rocket producer is quietly preparing for what it calls the first flight of a carrier rocket designed and made completely by a private company from China.
Shu Chang, founder and chief executive of OneSpace Technology, a privately owned startup in Beijing that develops and builds carrier rockets, said in an exclusive interview that the maiden launch of the company's OS-X0 solid-fuel rocket is set to take place in May at a test field in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.
Engineers at OneSpace have finished most of the testing on the rocket, which was recently transported from the company's manufacturing facility in Beijing to the test field, he said.
"We designed and made the rocket, including its engine, on our own, and no one has done so before us, so it is fair to call it the first privately developed Chinese rocket," Shu said. "Once the test flights prove successful, the OS-X series will be tasked with performing technological demonstration flights for testing new types of aircraft or spacecraft."
Many domestic institutes have designed new concepts of aircraft and spacecraft, he explained, and these futuristic craft need to have test flights done atop a rocket to verify their aerodynamic designs, creating huge opportunities for Shu's rockets.
"The market prospects for the OS-X family are very good－it has been scheduled to make three to four launches within this year on orders from domestic clients," Shu said, adding that OneSpace expects up to 10 missions for such rockets in 2019.
The company says the 6-meter-tall OS-X0 is capable of placing 100-kilogram payloads into an orbit 800 kilometers above Earth. The rocket can accelerate new concept craft it's testing to a hypersonic speed of Mach 13, or 4.4 kilometers per second.
Established in 2015, a year now widely deemed the opening chapter of China's commercial space industry, OneSpace has become a rising star in the country's space arena, which has long been dominated by State-owned contractors. Its rapid growth has been possible thanks to government endeavors to foster the commercial space sector and encourage participation from private enterprises.
Another advantage lies in the fact that State-owned space giants focus most of their attention and resources on the medium-sized and large rockets that are launch vehicles for government-backed, heavyweight spacecraft.
That leaves considerable market share for small rockets made by private firms.
Shu said his company is developing the OS-M1, a larger rocket, to send small satellites into sun-synchronous or low-Earth orbits. He said it will be "the lowest-cost small rocket in the world".
OneSpace plans to conduct OS-M1's first flight around year's end, but that depends on a government-run space launch center the company wants to use for that mission, he said.
"There are many producers of small or mini satellites in the international market, but the number of rocket providers is very small. Many foreign firms have reached out to us to discuss using our rockets to lift their satellites," Shu said.
OneSpace rockets' major competitor in the global market is India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, commonly known as PSLV, which has gained credence as a small satellite launcher, he said.
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OneSpace set to launch nation's first private carrier rocketNation's first private carrier rocket awaits flight
By ZHAO LEI | China Daily | Updated: 2018-05-04 07:16
Artist's illustration shows 6-meter-tall OS-X0. CHINA DAILY
While SpaceX is leading the trend of commercial spaceflight in the United States, China's first private rocket producer is quietly preparing for what it calls the first flight of a carrier rocket designed and made completely by a private company from China.
Shu Chang, founder and chief executive of OneSpace Technology, a privately owned startup in Beijing that develops and builds carrier rockets, said in an exclusive interview that the maiden launch of the company's OS-X0 solid-fuel rocket is set to take place in May at a test field in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.
Engineers at OneSpace have finished most of the testing on the rocket, which was recently transported from the company's manufacturing facility in Beijing to the test field, he said.
"We designed and made the rocket, including its engine, on our own, and no one has done so before us, so it is fair to call it the first privately developed Chinese rocket," Shu said. "Once the test flights prove successful, the OS-X series will be tasked with performing technological demonstration flights for testing new types of aircraft or spacecraft."
Many domestic institutes have designed new concepts of aircraft and spacecraft, he explained, and these futuristic craft need to have test flights done atop a rocket to verify their aerodynamic designs, creating huge opportunities for Shu's rockets.
"The market prospects for the OS-X family are very good－it has been scheduled to make three to four launches within this year on orders from domestic clients," Shu said, adding that OneSpace expects up to 10 missions for such rockets in 2019.
The company says the 6-meter-tall OS-X0 is capable of placing 100-kilogram payloads into an orbit 800 kilometers above Earth. The rocket can accelerate new concept craft it's testing to a hypersonic speed of Mach 13, or 4.4 kilometers per second.
Established in 2015, a year now widely deemed the opening chapter of China's commercial space industry, OneSpace has become a rising star in the country's space arena, which has long been dominated by State-owned contractors. Its rapid growth has been possible thanks to government endeavors to foster the commercial space sector and encourage participation from private enterprises.
Another advantage lies in the fact that State-owned space giants focus most of their attention and resources on the medium-sized and large rockets that are launch vehicles for government-backed, heavyweight spacecraft.
That leaves considerable market share for small rockets made by private firms.
Shu said his company is developing the OS-M1, a larger rocket, to send small satellites into sun-synchronous or low-Earth orbits. He said it will be "the lowest-cost small rocket in the world".
OneSpace plans to conduct OS-M1's first flight around year's end, but that depends on a government-run space launch center the company wants to use for that mission, he said.
"There are many producers of small or mini satellites in the international market, but the number of rocket providers is very small. Many foreign firms have reached out to us to discuss using our rockets to lift their satellites," Shu said.
OneSpace rockets' major competitor in the global market is India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, commonly known as PSLV, which has gained credence as a small satellite launcher, he said.
By Tan Yingzi in Chongqing | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2018-05-08 16:28
OneSpace Technology, China's first private rocket producer, announced Tuesday in Chongqing the maiden launch of the company's OS-X0 solid-fuel rocket is set to take place on May 17 in a test field in northwest China.
The company calls it the first flight of a carrier rocket designed and made completely by a private company from China.
The rocket has been transported to the test field and the company is busy preparing for the launch. According to a previous report by China Daily, the test field is in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.
The 9-meter-tall OS-X0, called "Chongqing Liangjiang Star," is capable of placing 100-kilogram payloads into an orbit 800 kilometers above Earth. The rocket can accelerate a new concept craft it's testing to a hypersonic speed of Mach 13, or 4.4 kilometers per second.
Established in 2015 through government endeavors to foster the commercial space sector and encourage participation from private enterprises, OneSpace has become a rising star in the country's space arena.
Last May, OneSpace signed an agreement with Chongqing Liangjiang Aviation Industry Investment Group to build its research and manufacturing base in the Southwest China city.
Chongqing Liangjiang New Area is the third national development and opening zone in China — the first in the inland — approved by the State Council, after Shanghai Pudong New Area and Tianjin Binhai New Area.
The Chongqing base will be put into use by the end of this year, with a research center, a smart manufacturing and assembly center, a test center, an aircraft control and simulation center and specialized labs. Its annual output value is expected to reach 1.5 billion yuan, with the capacity to assemble and test 30 carrier rockets.
OneSpace is developing the OS-M1, a larger rocket, to send small satellites into sun-synchronous or low-Earth orbits. It plans to conduct OS-M1's first flight around year's end.
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China's first privately made carrier rocket launchesOneSpace set to launch nation's first private carrier rocket
By Tan Yingzi in Chongqing | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2018-05-08 16:28
May 8, 2018, Shu Chang from the OneSpace Technology, China's first private rocket producer, introduces the company's OS-X0 solid-fuel rocket that is set for launch on May 17 in a test field in Northwest China. [Photo by Tan Yingzi/chinadaily.com.cn]
OneSpace Technology, China's first private rocket producer, announced Tuesday in Chongqing the maiden launch of the company's OS-X0 solid-fuel rocket is set to take place on May 17 in a test field in northwest China.
The company calls it the first flight of a carrier rocket designed and made completely by a private company from China.
The rocket has been transported to the test field and the company is busy preparing for the launch. According to a previous report by China Daily, the test field is in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.
The 9-meter-tall OS-X0, called "Chongqing Liangjiang Star," is capable of placing 100-kilogram payloads into an orbit 800 kilometers above Earth. The rocket can accelerate a new concept craft it's testing to a hypersonic speed of Mach 13, or 4.4 kilometers per second.
Established in 2015 through government endeavors to foster the commercial space sector and encourage participation from private enterprises, OneSpace has become a rising star in the country's space arena.
Last May, OneSpace signed an agreement with Chongqing Liangjiang Aviation Industry Investment Group to build its research and manufacturing base in the Southwest China city.
Chongqing Liangjiang New Area is the third national development and opening zone in China — the first in the inland — approved by the State Council, after Shanghai Pudong New Area and Tianjin Binhai New Area.
The Chongqing base will be put into use by the end of this year, with a research center, a smart manufacturing and assembly center, a test center, an aircraft control and simulation center and specialized labs. Its annual output value is expected to reach 1.5 billion yuan, with the capacity to assemble and test 30 carrier rockets.
OneSpace is developing the OS-M1, a larger rocket, to send small satellites into sun-synchronous or low-Earth orbits. It plans to conduct OS-M1's first flight around year's end.
chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2018-05-17 08:02
The first carrier rocket to be designed and built by a private enterprise in China was launched at 7:33 am Thursday from a testing base in Northwest China.
Developed by OneSpace Technology in Beijing and called Chongqing Liangjiang Star, the rocket has an ultrafast speed and will be used to conduct test flights for new-concept aircraft, to verify their aerodynamic designs.
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China’s moon mission will probe cosmic dark ages
By Daniel Clery
May. 16, 2018 , 3:00 PM
On 21 May, China plans to launch a satellite with a vital but unglamorous mission. From a vantage point beyond the moon, Queqiao, as the satellite is called, will relay data from Chang'e 4, a lander and rover that is supposed to touch down on the lunar far side before the end of the year. But a Dutch-made radio receiver aboard Queqiao will attempt something more visionary. In the quiet lunar environment, it will listen to the cosmos at low frequencies that carry clues to the time a few hundred million years after the big bang, when clouds of hydrogen gas were spawning the universe's first stars.
The mission is a proof of principle for other efforts to take radio astronomy above the atmosphere, which blocks key radio frequencies, and far from earthly interference. "Putting the whole show into space is extremely appealing," says Michael Hecht of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Haystack Observatory in Westford, whose team is also developing small radio satellites that could be used to probe the cosmos. For Europe's astronomers, it is also a test of cooperation with China, something their U.S. counterparts at NASA are barred from doing.
The Netherlands-China Low-Frequency Explorer (NCLE) project stems from a 2015 Dutch trade mission to China, during which the two countries agreed to collaborate on space missions. The Netherlands is strong in radio astronomy: Its Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) stretches across much of northern Europe. NCLE Principal Investigator Heino Falcke, of Radboud University in the Netherlands, has long advocated a "LOFAR on the moon." China has an ambitious program of moon missions, so he jumped at the chance to take a first step. "We put together a proposal in 2 weeks," he says. Once funded, the team had just 1.5 years to build the instrument. "Half of the experiment is how you work together" Falcke says. Jinsong Ping of the National Astronomical Observatories of China in Beijing, who leads the Chinese team working on the NCLE, agrees: "It is really challenging both sides. … Different culture, habit, language, working manner."
To see back into the dark age before the first stars, astronomers look for a signal emitted when electrons in the primordial neutral hydrogen gas spontaneously flipped their orientation. These photons started out with short radio wavelengths, but over their more than 13-billion-year journey to Earth, the universe's expansion stretched them out to long wavelengths, or low megahertz frequencies. After the gas clumped together to form the first stars, their radiation ionized the neutral gas and eventually snuffed out the faint signal.
Telescopes such as the LOFAR aim to detect the ancient signal and use it to map the distribution of primordial matter. But the signal is hard to discern in the maelstrom of radio noise from terrestrial sources and other objects across the universe. Only one detector, the Experiment to Detect the Global Epoch of Reionization Signature, a set of ground-based antennas in Australia, has so far claimed a detection.
Queqiao, orbiting a gravitational balance point beyond the moon called L2, will offer a quieter vantage. In order to relay signals from the moon to Earth, the satellite can't be completely in the moon's shadow, which means that Earth noise could still be a problem, says Jack Burns, an astronomer at the University of Colorado in Boulder who has long campaigned for a lunar radio observatory. Burns adds that the spacecraft itself will also be a source of interference. But by testing hardware in space, the NCLE "will set the stage for other missions."
Once Queqiao arrives at L2, the NCLE will wait its turn until after the Chang'e 4 lander has achieved its main mission: exploring the South Pole-Aitken Basin, a huge far side depression. Then, around March 2019, the instrument will unspool three 2-meter-long carbon-fiber antennas, each at right angles to the others.
Because Earth's atmosphere blocks all radio signals below 30 megahertz, the data will delight a range of astronomers. Falcke says the team will study solar flares, the aurora of Jupiter, and the galaxy's radio emissions. "There's nothing as good as having real data," he says. The dark age signal is a long shot, he admits. Realistically, the mission is about "gaining expertise to build a follow-up."
The Chinese NCLE team has its own plans. It has placed basic receivers on the Chang'e 4 lander and two microsatellites that Queqiao will release into lunar orbit to study solar radio bursts. Ping says his team will also try to combine signals received by the NCLE with those taken by earthbound detectors—a technique known as interferometry, which can improve resolution. "It is a demonstration," he says. It could show that, once detectors are sensitive enough, interferometry could help them map the newborn universe.
Burns and his colleagues are working on a proposal for a small satellite called the Dark Ages Polarimetry Pathfinder, which he says will be more sensitive to the dark age signal. But eventually, he wants to see an observatory on the lunar far side, deep with the moon's radio quiet shadow. He predicts a NASA-funded low-frequency telescope in the next 5 years. "There's great interest in the far side."
Posted in: Space
doi:10.1126/science.aau2004
China’s moon mission will probe cosmic dark ages | Science | AAAS
By Daniel Clery
May. 16, 2018 , 3:00 PM
On 21 May, China plans to launch a satellite with a vital but unglamorous mission. From a vantage point beyond the moon, Queqiao, as the satellite is called, will relay data from Chang'e 4, a lander and rover that is supposed to touch down on the lunar far side before the end of the year. But a Dutch-made radio receiver aboard Queqiao will attempt something more visionary. In the quiet lunar environment, it will listen to the cosmos at low frequencies that carry clues to the time a few hundred million years after the big bang, when clouds of hydrogen gas were spawning the universe's first stars.
The mission is a proof of principle for other efforts to take radio astronomy above the atmosphere, which blocks key radio frequencies, and far from earthly interference. "Putting the whole show into space is extremely appealing," says Michael Hecht of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Haystack Observatory in Westford, whose team is also developing small radio satellites that could be used to probe the cosmos. For Europe's astronomers, it is also a test of cooperation with China, something their U.S. counterparts at NASA are barred from doing.
The Netherlands-China Low-Frequency Explorer (NCLE) project stems from a 2015 Dutch trade mission to China, during which the two countries agreed to collaborate on space missions. The Netherlands is strong in radio astronomy: Its Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) stretches across much of northern Europe. NCLE Principal Investigator Heino Falcke, of Radboud University in the Netherlands, has long advocated a "LOFAR on the moon." China has an ambitious program of moon missions, so he jumped at the chance to take a first step. "We put together a proposal in 2 weeks," he says. Once funded, the team had just 1.5 years to build the instrument. "Half of the experiment is how you work together" Falcke says. Jinsong Ping of the National Astronomical Observatories of China in Beijing, who leads the Chinese team working on the NCLE, agrees: "It is really challenging both sides. … Different culture, habit, language, working manner."
To see back into the dark age before the first stars, astronomers look for a signal emitted when electrons in the primordial neutral hydrogen gas spontaneously flipped their orientation. These photons started out with short radio wavelengths, but over their more than 13-billion-year journey to Earth, the universe's expansion stretched them out to long wavelengths, or low megahertz frequencies. After the gas clumped together to form the first stars, their radiation ionized the neutral gas and eventually snuffed out the faint signal.
Telescopes such as the LOFAR aim to detect the ancient signal and use it to map the distribution of primordial matter. But the signal is hard to discern in the maelstrom of radio noise from terrestrial sources and other objects across the universe. Only one detector, the Experiment to Detect the Global Epoch of Reionization Signature, a set of ground-based antennas in Australia, has so far claimed a detection.
Queqiao, orbiting a gravitational balance point beyond the moon called L2, will offer a quieter vantage. In order to relay signals from the moon to Earth, the satellite can't be completely in the moon's shadow, which means that Earth noise could still be a problem, says Jack Burns, an astronomer at the University of Colorado in Boulder who has long campaigned for a lunar radio observatory. Burns adds that the spacecraft itself will also be a source of interference. But by testing hardware in space, the NCLE "will set the stage for other missions."
Once Queqiao arrives at L2, the NCLE will wait its turn until after the Chang'e 4 lander has achieved its main mission: exploring the South Pole-Aitken Basin, a huge far side depression. Then, around March 2019, the instrument will unspool three 2-meter-long carbon-fiber antennas, each at right angles to the others.
Because Earth's atmosphere blocks all radio signals below 30 megahertz, the data will delight a range of astronomers. Falcke says the team will study solar flares, the aurora of Jupiter, and the galaxy's radio emissions. "There's nothing as good as having real data," he says. The dark age signal is a long shot, he admits. Realistically, the mission is about "gaining expertise to build a follow-up."
The Chinese NCLE team has its own plans. It has placed basic receivers on the Chang'e 4 lander and two microsatellites that Queqiao will release into lunar orbit to study solar radio bursts. Ping says his team will also try to combine signals received by the NCLE with those taken by earthbound detectors—a technique known as interferometry, which can improve resolution. "It is a demonstration," he says. It could show that, once detectors are sensitive enough, interferometry could help them map the newborn universe.
Burns and his colleagues are working on a proposal for a small satellite called the Dark Ages Polarimetry Pathfinder, which he says will be more sensitive to the dark age signal. But eventually, he wants to see an observatory on the lunar far side, deep with the moon's radio quiet shadow. He predicts a NASA-funded low-frequency telescope in the next 5 years. "There's great interest in the far side."
Posted in: Space
doi:10.1126/science.aau2004
China’s moon mission will probe cosmic dark ages | Science | AAAS
JSCh
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DUTCH RADIO ANTENNA TO DEPART FOR THE MOON ON CHINESE MISSION
Ready to launch: Nederlandse antenne met Chinese satelliet naar de maan
Thu, 17/05/2018 - 08:30
On 21 May 2018*, the Chinese space agency will launch the relay satellite Chang’e 4 to an orbit behind the Moon. On board will be a Dutch radio antenna, the Netherlands Chinese Low-Frequency Explorer (NCLE). The radio antenna is the first Dutch-made scientific instrument to be sent on a Chinese space mission, and it will open up a new chapter in radio astronomy. The is instrument developed and built by engineers from ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy in Dwingeloo, the Radboud Radio Lab of Radboud University in Nijmegen, and the Delft-based company ISIS. With the instrument, astronomers want to measure radio waves originating from the period directly after the Big Bang, when the first stars and galaxies were formed.
* The launch depends on favorable weather conditions. It is therefore possible that the launch will be postponed.
Follow the latest updates on NCLE mission at http://www.ru.nl/launchncle
Why is it so important for the measuring instruments to be placed behind the Moon? Professor of Astrophysics from Radboud University and ASTRON Heino Falcke: “Radio astronomers study the universe using radio waves, light coming from stars and planets, for example, which are not visible with the naked eye. We can receive almost all celestial radio wave frequencies here on Earth. We cannot detect radio waves below 30 MHz, however, as these are blocked by our atmosphere. It is these frequencies in particular that contain information about the early universe, which is why we want to measure them.”
The radio antenna Netherlands Chinese Low-Frequency Explorer (NCLE), developed by ASTRON, Radboud Radio Lab, ISIS and NAOC. Photo credit: Radboud Radio Lab / ASTRON / Albert-Jan Boonstra
Special about the radio antenna is that it will receive low frequency radio waves with a large frequency range. “In the past this was not possible and therefore a receiver with a narrow frequency band was used, in order to avoid electromagnetic interference of the satellite itself,” explains project leader Albert-Jan Boonstra of ASTRON. “We have now succeeded in avoiding the electromagnetic interference and making a broadband receiver. That is, of course, good news for subsequent missions and can, for example, be used for future nano-satellites.”
The instrument passed an important risk assessment review by the Chinese space agency at the end of April. Marc Klein Wolt, Managing Director of the Radboud Radio Lab, is looking back on the endeavour with a sense of accomplishment: “The last few months have been quite challenging for the Dutch team, who have put in a lot of effort to complete the instrument for the launch as the final phase of a two-year bi-lateral project with our Chinese counterparts. The Chinese lunar programme is like a bus we were trying to catch, mostly due to the hard work and enormous dedication from the teams on both sides”. On April 30, the antenna successfully passed final pre-flight test. Heino Falcke reported: “Antennas were successfully deployed and retracted. Next step in this adventure is the L2-point behind the Moon.”
In 2016, the Netherlands Space Office and its Chinese counterpart CNSA signed an agreement to cooperate in this project, which was an elaboration of the Memorandum of Understanding the two space agencies signed the year before during a trade mission in presence of the Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Dutch King Willem Alexander. “NCLE does not only pave the way for new exciting science, but also provides new means for the two countries to expand their international collaboration,” says Mr. Harry Forster of the NSO.
Behind the Moon the satellite revolves around a fixed point, the so-called second Lagrange point or L2 point of the Earth-Moon system. That point is about 65,000 kilometers from the Moon. Photo credit: Radboud Radio Lab
The Netherlands Chinese Low-Frequency Explorer (NCLE) was built by a team of researchers and engineers from the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON) in Dwingeloo, the Radboud Radio Lab of the Radboud University, and the Delft company ISIS in the Netherlands in collaboration with a team from the Chinese National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC).
Dutch radio antenna to depart for the Moon on Chinese mission | ASTRON
Ready to launch: Nederlandse antenne met Chinese satelliet naar de maanThu, 17/05/2018 - 08:30
On 21 May 2018*, the Chinese space agency will launch the relay satellite Chang’e 4 to an orbit behind the Moon. On board will be a Dutch radio antenna, the Netherlands Chinese Low-Frequency Explorer (NCLE). The radio antenna is the first Dutch-made scientific instrument to be sent on a Chinese space mission, and it will open up a new chapter in radio astronomy. The is instrument developed and built by engineers from ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy in Dwingeloo, the Radboud Radio Lab of Radboud University in Nijmegen, and the Delft-based company ISIS. With the instrument, astronomers want to measure radio waves originating from the period directly after the Big Bang, when the first stars and galaxies were formed.
* The launch depends on favorable weather conditions. It is therefore possible that the launch will be postponed.
Follow the latest updates on NCLE mission at http://www.ru.nl/launchncle
Why is it so important for the measuring instruments to be placed behind the Moon? Professor of Astrophysics from Radboud University and ASTRON Heino Falcke: “Radio astronomers study the universe using radio waves, light coming from stars and planets, for example, which are not visible with the naked eye. We can receive almost all celestial radio wave frequencies here on Earth. We cannot detect radio waves below 30 MHz, however, as these are blocked by our atmosphere. It is these frequencies in particular that contain information about the early universe, which is why we want to measure them.”
Special about the radio antenna is that it will receive low frequency radio waves with a large frequency range. “In the past this was not possible and therefore a receiver with a narrow frequency band was used, in order to avoid electromagnetic interference of the satellite itself,” explains project leader Albert-Jan Boonstra of ASTRON. “We have now succeeded in avoiding the electromagnetic interference and making a broadband receiver. That is, of course, good news for subsequent missions and can, for example, be used for future nano-satellites.”
The instrument passed an important risk assessment review by the Chinese space agency at the end of April. Marc Klein Wolt, Managing Director of the Radboud Radio Lab, is looking back on the endeavour with a sense of accomplishment: “The last few months have been quite challenging for the Dutch team, who have put in a lot of effort to complete the instrument for the launch as the final phase of a two-year bi-lateral project with our Chinese counterparts. The Chinese lunar programme is like a bus we were trying to catch, mostly due to the hard work and enormous dedication from the teams on both sides”. On April 30, the antenna successfully passed final pre-flight test. Heino Falcke reported: “Antennas were successfully deployed and retracted. Next step in this adventure is the L2-point behind the Moon.”
In 2016, the Netherlands Space Office and its Chinese counterpart CNSA signed an agreement to cooperate in this project, which was an elaboration of the Memorandum of Understanding the two space agencies signed the year before during a trade mission in presence of the Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Dutch King Willem Alexander. “NCLE does not only pave the way for new exciting science, but also provides new means for the two countries to expand their international collaboration,” says Mr. Harry Forster of the NSO.
The Netherlands Chinese Low-Frequency Explorer (NCLE) was built by a team of researchers and engineers from the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON) in Dwingeloo, the Radboud Radio Lab of the Radboud University, and the Delft company ISIS in the Netherlands in collaboration with a team from the Chinese National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC).
Dutch radio antenna to depart for the Moon on Chinese mission | ASTRON
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NOTAM:
J4030/18 - DUE TO SPACEFLIGHT ACTIVITIES,THE FLIGHT SAFETY OF THE AIRCRAFT IN FOLLOWING AREAS MAY BE AFFECTED ON MAY 20, 2018 DETAILS ARE AS FOLLOWS: ON MAY 20,2018 FROM 21:31-21:40 UTC AND 23:01-23:10 UTC AREA: 242432N1271117E 234250N1265819E 240231N1254146E 244420N1255418E,FOUR-POINT CONNECTION RANGE. VERTICAL ALTITUDE:SFC-UNL RMK/ATC WILL NOT CLEAR IFR FLT THRU THIS AREA FOR THE FLIGHT SAFETY. SFC - UNL, 2131/2140 2301/2310, 20 MAY 21:31 2018 UNTIL 20 MAY 23:10 2018. CREATED: 18 MAY 09:49 2018
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