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China Outer Space Science, Technology and Explorations: News & Updates
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onebyone
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- ReutersJuly 31, 2019, 12:40 PM GMT+7
After historic rocket launch, Chinese startup to ramp up missions[/paste:font]FILE PHOTO: The Hyperbola-1 rocket of Chinese space company iSpace is seen before its successful launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Gansu
By Ryan Woo
BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing-based startup iSpace is planning up to eight commercial rocket launches next year, after last week becoming China's first privately funded firm to put a satellite into orbit, its executives told Reuters.
iSpace's success has turned up the heat on the country's other 15-plus startups to develop vehicles capable of delivering satellites into orbit. Since late last year, two other firms have attempted but failed.
(Graphic: China's long march to space - https://tmsnrt.rs/2Mb8O60)
China envisions constellations of commercial satellites that can offer services ranging from high-speed internet for aircraft to tracking coal shipments. Reliable, low-cost and frequent deployment by private firms will be key.
"If you don't have a rocket that can go into orbit, that shows that you don't have a product. What business model can you speak of then?" iSpace's Vice President for Finance Huo Jia said in an interview on Tuesday.
"The threshold for orbital launches is extremely high, and 99% of companies will fail," Huo said, predicting only one or two firms in China would be successful in the next five to 10 years.
Clients from Singapore, Italy, Spain, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka, as well as mainland customers, have already either signed up for a spot on iSpace's rockets or expressed interest.
iSpace is open to both private and government clients.
"It's the same for us whether it's a private or a state-owned company," Vice President for Marketing and Communications Yao Bowen said.
The price tag to launch a rocket is 4.5 million euros ($5 million), Yao added.
That compares with the $25 million to $30 million needed for a launch on a Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Pegasus, a commonly used small rocket.
Since its founding in late 2016, iSpace has completed six rounds of fund-raising totaling over 700 million yuan ($102 million). The last round took place in June.
To help develop the Hyperbola-2, which will also be a reusable rocket, iSpace will "definitely" complete a large round of fund-raising later this year, Huo said, declining to give more details.
Many of iSpace's rivals are designing cheap, disposable boosters. Only one other firm - LinkSpace - aims to build reusable rockets that return to Earth after delivering their payload, much like the Falcon 9 rockets of Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The reusable design of Hyperbola-2 will cut costs by 70%, Huo said.
iSpace estimates a first launch of its reusable rocket in 2021.
The firm was founded by Peng Xiaobo, a former director of research and development at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, a top state Chinese rocket maker.
iSpace also owns a defense technology firm, corporate registration data published by Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce shows.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo and Beijing newsroom; editing by Richard Pullin)
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China builds more powerful ‘eyes’ to observe the sun
By Liu Caiyu Source:Global Times Published: 2019/8/1 22:03:40
A photo of the Ming'antu Observing Station in the North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Photo: Xinhua Sina Weibo account
Chinese scientists are building new devices to watch the sun from North China, which will enhance China's capability of detecting and forecasting spatial disasters caused by solar variation.
Researchers at the Ming'antu Observing Station based in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region are building three new devices to monitor the sun - a decameter wave radio heliograph, an interplanetary scintillation telescope and an ultra-wideband solar radio dynamic spectrometer, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.
Those new devices, once completed, will help the base monitor the sun at a broader range in any circumstances and any time, either from the bottom of the solar atmosphere to near-earth space or under severe weather, Tan Baolin, a research fellow with the National Astronomical Observatories at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Tan said those devices, "like eyes to a human," will enhance China's ability to detect and warn of severe spatial weather variation such as a cosmic ray storm.
The decameter wave radio heliograph would also fill in gaps on observation of a solar radio burst, according to Xinhua.
Violent solar variation can trigger catastrophic spatial weather events and cause serious damage or disturbance to aviation, aerospace, satellite communications, navigation, networks, power transmission networks and oil pipelines.
The 130 million yuan ($18.8 million) new equipment will cover an area of about 143,333 square meters and is supposed to be finished in 2023 and go into use in 2025, Xinhua said.
The Ming'antu Observing Station is affiliated with the national astronomical observatories under the CAS, according to Xinhua.
By Liu Caiyu Source:Global Times Published: 2019/8/1 22:03:40
Chinese scientists are building new devices to watch the sun from North China, which will enhance China's capability of detecting and forecasting spatial disasters caused by solar variation.
Researchers at the Ming'antu Observing Station based in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region are building three new devices to monitor the sun - a decameter wave radio heliograph, an interplanetary scintillation telescope and an ultra-wideband solar radio dynamic spectrometer, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.
Those new devices, once completed, will help the base monitor the sun at a broader range in any circumstances and any time, either from the bottom of the solar atmosphere to near-earth space or under severe weather, Tan Baolin, a research fellow with the National Astronomical Observatories at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Tan said those devices, "like eyes to a human," will enhance China's ability to detect and warn of severe spatial weather variation such as a cosmic ray storm.
The decameter wave radio heliograph would also fill in gaps on observation of a solar radio burst, according to Xinhua.
Violent solar variation can trigger catastrophic spatial weather events and cause serious damage or disturbance to aviation, aerospace, satellite communications, navigation, networks, power transmission networks and oil pipelines.
The 130 million yuan ($18.8 million) new equipment will cover an area of about 143,333 square meters and is supposed to be finished in 2023 and go into use in 2025, Xinhua said.
The Ming'antu Observing Station is affiliated with the national astronomical observatories under the CAS, according to Xinhua.
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Planned extension to China's FAST telescope to search for extraterrestrial life
2019-08-02 13:38:24 en.people.cn Editor : Li Yan
China plans to build an extension on its Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) to search an area of up to 100 light years from earth, for planets with magnetic fields similar to ours. The aim? To find extraterrestrial life, Science and Technology Daily reported on Thursday.
"Though FAST is the most sensitive radio telescope in the world, its resolution is not good enough to observe extrasolar planets, due to the limitation of its caliber. We hope to build a FAST extension matrix which can help increase the spatial resolution of FAST by 10 to 100 times," said Li Di, a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and chief scientist of FAST.
According to Li, they plan to lay an intensive network around the current FAST spherical surface with 5-meter caliber antenna and simplified receiving unit, to extend the effective baseline from the present 300 meters to dozens of kilometers.
To help cut costs, designers will not add a digital signal processing device in each unit of the extension matrix. Instead, the electric signal received will be directly transmitted to FAST's master processor via optical fiber, disclosed Li. He explained that this would also improve the response performance of FAST.
As soon as FAST receives an initial radio signal from another planet, it will open a new window of extrasolar habitable planet exploration. "As such searches are carried out in a large area, it might reach a conclusion that suggests magnetic fields are ubiquitous on extrasolar planets," said Li.
Li noted that although the magnetic field is not the only condition for the existence of extraterrestrial life, it is an essential factor that protects life from the harsh cosmic environment.
Increasingly diversified and detailed detection of magnetic fields on extrasolar planets in the future will change people's knowledge about extraterrestrial life, and even give impetus to the search for intelligent life and alien civilizations, according to Li.
"It would be unbelievable if no extraterrestrial life is detected in the near future," said Li. He reasons that life exists in various extreme conditions on the earth, and people have discovered the essential elements for life as well as complex molecules in outer space. As he puts it, if everything necessary for life, such as a fixed star, planet, magnetic field, water, and enough time, exist on an extrasolar planet, why wouldn't there be extraterrestrial life?
FAST is about to take the first step towards this type of exploration, and the building of the extension matrix will be finished in the next 3 to 4 years.
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China's micro lunar orbiter crashes into Moon under control
Source: Xinhua| 2019-08-02 16:28:11|Editor: huaxia
BEIJING, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- China's micro lunar orbiter Longjiang-2 has crashed into the Moon under ground control after it completed its mission, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.
The micro satellite crashed into a predetermined area on the far side of the Moon at 10:20 p.m. on July 31 (Beijing Time), the center said Friday.
Weighing 47 kg, Longjiang-2 was sent into space on May 21, 2018, together with the Chang'e-4 lunar probe's relay satellite "Queqiao," and entered the lunar orbit four days later. It operated in orbit for 437 days, exceeding its one-year designed lifespan.
The development of the micro lunar orbiter explores a new low-cost mode of deep space exploration, said the center.
The micro satellite carried an ultra-long-wave detector, developed by the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, aiming to conduct radio astronomical observation and study solar radiation.
As a part of the international cooperation behind China's Chang'e-4 mission, Longjiang-2 also carried an optical camera developed by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology of Saudi Arabia. The camera has captured 30 high-definition images of the Moon.
The Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center said it was an important space cooperation achievement for countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, and also ushered in more space cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia.
The program also pushed forward non-governmental cooperation between the satellite's developers from the Harbin Institute of Technology in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province and research teams in countries such as Japan, Germany and the Netherlands.
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China is building world’s most powerful laser radar to study Earth’s solar shield | South China Morning Post
Published: 6:00am, 5 Aug, 2019
China has started building the world’s most powerful laser radar designed to study the physics of the Earth’s high atmosphere, according to state media reports and scientists informed of the project.
It is described as having a detection range of 1,000km (600 miles) – 10 times that of existing lasers – and will be used to study atmospheric particles that form the planet’s first line of defence against hostile elements from outer space such as cosmic rays and solar winds.
The facility, to be built on a site that remains classified, is expected to be up and running within four years and will form part of an ambitious project to reduce the risk from abnormal solar activities.
The radar will use a high-energy laser beam that can pierce through clouds, bypass the International Space Station and reach the outskirts of the atmosphere, beyond the orbiting height of most Earth observation satellites.
There, the air becomes so thin that scientists will be able to count the number of gas atoms found within a radius of several metres.
These high-altitude observations could greatly expand our knowledge of a part of the atmosphere that has been little studied because the distances involved mean no one has been able to make direct observations from the ground.
“The large-calibre laser radar array will achieve the first detection of atmospheric density of up to 1,000km in human history,” said a statement posted on the website of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on Tuesday, a day after the launch of the project.
But the claim has been greeted with some scepticism in the scientific world.
“I think the 1,000km is a misprint!” professor Geraint Vaughan, director of observations at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science in the UK, replied when asked about the project.
Vaughan, who is also a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society, said that while he thought the Chinese announcement was “very interesting”, it did not seem possible with existing technology.
At present, the effective range of atmospheric lasers is about 100 kilometres.
Some other senior scientists in China and overseas also expressed doubt about the project, although they requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
“There are other approaches, such as launching a satellite. Building such a huge, expensive machine on the ground does not make sense,” said a Beijing-based laser scientist.
But several researchers told the South China Morning Post that the project did exist, and insisted that 1,000km range was not a mistake.
Hua Dengxin, a professor at Xian University of Technology and a lead scientist in China's laser radar development programmes, said: “I have heard of the project, yes. But I cannot speak about it.”
Powerful telescopes will pick up the signals reflected back to earth. Photo: Handout
According to publicly available information, the facility will use several large optical telescopes to pick up the faint signals reflected by the high-altitude atoms when the laser is fired at them.
The project is part of the Meridian Space Weather Monitoring Project, an ambitious programme that started in 2008 to build one of the largest, most advanced observation networks on Earth to monitor and forecast solar activities.
By 2025 Meridian stations containing some of the world’s most powerful radar systems will be established across the world – with facilities in Arctic and Antarctic, South China Sea, the Gobi desert, the Middle East, Central Asia and South America.
The purpose of the Meridian project, according to the Chinese government, is to reduce the risk abnormal solar activities pose to a wide range of Chinese assets including super-high voltage power grids, wireless communication, satellite constellations, space stations or even a future base on the Moon.
Chinese laser scientists have developed some of the world’s most sophisticated systems in recent years, including ranging stations that can track the movement of satellites and space debris, which the Pentagon has claimed have temporarily blinded some American scientists.
Last year researchers based in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, announced that they had developed a “laser AK-47” that could set fire to target from a distance of 800 metres.
The Chinese government is also funding the development of a laser satellite that can penetrate seawater to a depth of 500 metres from space to detect the waves generated by submarines.
The use of such a powerful laser raises concerns that passing objects such as planes, satellites or spacecraft – to say nothing of birds – may be at risk from its beams.
But Professor Qiao Yanli, engineer in chief at the Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said there was an “extremely low” risk of this happening.
“The sky is enormous. Getting hit by a tiny beam is almost impossible,” he said.
Some much smaller laser radars, such as those installed in auto-driving test vehicles, have reportedly damaged digital cameras by burning a few pixels on sensor.
But spacecraft such as earth observation satellites, according to Qiao, usually have some protection mechanisms, such as a warning system, to avoid permanent damage caused by an accidental laser hit.
Professor Li Yuqiang, a researcher at the Yunnan Observatories in Kunming, whose team has measured the distance between the Earth and the Moon by shooting lasers at a reflector placed on the lunar surface during the US Apollo 15 mission, said detecting atom-sized targets on the fringes of the atmosphere posed many technical challenges.
“The number of photons [particles of light] reflected by the sparse gas particles will be very small. Even if they can be picked up by large telescopes on the ground, the analysis will require some very good algorithms to separate the useful signals from the noise,” Li said.
“How that can be achieved is beyond the scope of my knowledge.”
- New facility is designed to help scientists study particles that help deflect cosmic rays in the high atmosphere
- Despite scepticism among some scientists, those familiar with the project insist radar will have a range about 10 times greater than existing ones
Published: 6:00am, 5 Aug, 2019
China has started building the world’s most powerful laser radar designed to study the physics of the Earth’s high atmosphere, according to state media reports and scientists informed of the project.
It is described as having a detection range of 1,000km (600 miles) – 10 times that of existing lasers – and will be used to study atmospheric particles that form the planet’s first line of defence against hostile elements from outer space such as cosmic rays and solar winds.
The facility, to be built on a site that remains classified, is expected to be up and running within four years and will form part of an ambitious project to reduce the risk from abnormal solar activities.
The radar will use a high-energy laser beam that can pierce through clouds, bypass the International Space Station and reach the outskirts of the atmosphere, beyond the orbiting height of most Earth observation satellites.
There, the air becomes so thin that scientists will be able to count the number of gas atoms found within a radius of several metres.
These high-altitude observations could greatly expand our knowledge of a part of the atmosphere that has been little studied because the distances involved mean no one has been able to make direct observations from the ground.
“The large-calibre laser radar array will achieve the first detection of atmospheric density of up to 1,000km in human history,” said a statement posted on the website of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on Tuesday, a day after the launch of the project.
But the claim has been greeted with some scepticism in the scientific world.
“I think the 1,000km is a misprint!” professor Geraint Vaughan, director of observations at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science in the UK, replied when asked about the project.
Vaughan, who is also a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society, said that while he thought the Chinese announcement was “very interesting”, it did not seem possible with existing technology.
At present, the effective range of atmospheric lasers is about 100 kilometres.
Some other senior scientists in China and overseas also expressed doubt about the project, although they requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
“There are other approaches, such as launching a satellite. Building such a huge, expensive machine on the ground does not make sense,” said a Beijing-based laser scientist.
But several researchers told the South China Morning Post that the project did exist, and insisted that 1,000km range was not a mistake.
Hua Dengxin, a professor at Xian University of Technology and a lead scientist in China's laser radar development programmes, said: “I have heard of the project, yes. But I cannot speak about it.”
According to publicly available information, the facility will use several large optical telescopes to pick up the faint signals reflected by the high-altitude atoms when the laser is fired at them.
The project is part of the Meridian Space Weather Monitoring Project, an ambitious programme that started in 2008 to build one of the largest, most advanced observation networks on Earth to monitor and forecast solar activities.
By 2025 Meridian stations containing some of the world’s most powerful radar systems will be established across the world – with facilities in Arctic and Antarctic, South China Sea, the Gobi desert, the Middle East, Central Asia and South America.
The purpose of the Meridian project, according to the Chinese government, is to reduce the risk abnormal solar activities pose to a wide range of Chinese assets including super-high voltage power grids, wireless communication, satellite constellations, space stations or even a future base on the Moon.
Chinese laser scientists have developed some of the world’s most sophisticated systems in recent years, including ranging stations that can track the movement of satellites and space debris, which the Pentagon has claimed have temporarily blinded some American scientists.
Last year researchers based in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, announced that they had developed a “laser AK-47” that could set fire to target from a distance of 800 metres.
The Chinese government is also funding the development of a laser satellite that can penetrate seawater to a depth of 500 metres from space to detect the waves generated by submarines.
The use of such a powerful laser raises concerns that passing objects such as planes, satellites or spacecraft – to say nothing of birds – may be at risk from its beams.
But Professor Qiao Yanli, engineer in chief at the Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said there was an “extremely low” risk of this happening.
“The sky is enormous. Getting hit by a tiny beam is almost impossible,” he said.
Some much smaller laser radars, such as those installed in auto-driving test vehicles, have reportedly damaged digital cameras by burning a few pixels on sensor.
But spacecraft such as earth observation satellites, according to Qiao, usually have some protection mechanisms, such as a warning system, to avoid permanent damage caused by an accidental laser hit.
Professor Li Yuqiang, a researcher at the Yunnan Observatories in Kunming, whose team has measured the distance between the Earth and the Moon by shooting lasers at a reflector placed on the lunar surface during the US Apollo 15 mission, said detecting atom-sized targets on the fringes of the atmosphere posed many technical challenges.
“The number of photons [particles of light] reflected by the sparse gas particles will be very small. Even if they can be picked up by large telescopes on the ground, the analysis will require some very good algorithms to separate the useful signals from the noise,” Li said.
“How that can be achieved is beyond the scope of my knowledge.”
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China's super-thin atomic clocks achieve mass production
Source: Xinhua| 2019-08-08 14:47:16|Editor: Liu
BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's super-thin rubidium atomic clock, which is just 17 millimeters thick, has been put into mass production, said its manufacturer Thursday.
The clock, developed in 2018 by a research institute under the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Limited, is the key to the positioning and timing accuracy of BeiDou navigation satellites.
Compared with the previous generation, the new clock is smaller in size but performs better. It adopts a plug-in design, making it easy to insert and remove on circuit board. With stronger resistance to high temperatures, it can work at 70 degrees Celsius.
The clock can be used in fields such as aviation, aerospace and telecommunications. According to its developers, the ultra-accurate clock will have a broader market prospect in the future.
A large number of self-developed rubidium and hydrogen atomic clocks have been carried by satellites that provide accurate positioning for China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System.
The atomic clocks are the workhorses that send synchronized signals so sat-nav receivers can triangulate their position on Earth.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-08-08 14:47:16|Editor: Liu
BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's super-thin rubidium atomic clock, which is just 17 millimeters thick, has been put into mass production, said its manufacturer Thursday.
The clock, developed in 2018 by a research institute under the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Limited, is the key to the positioning and timing accuracy of BeiDou navigation satellites.
Compared with the previous generation, the new clock is smaller in size but performs better. It adopts a plug-in design, making it easy to insert and remove on circuit board. With stronger resistance to high temperatures, it can work at 70 degrees Celsius.
The clock can be used in fields such as aviation, aerospace and telecommunications. According to its developers, the ultra-accurate clock will have a broader market prospect in the future.
A large number of self-developed rubidium and hydrogen atomic clocks have been carried by satellites that provide accurate positioning for China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System.
The atomic clocks are the workhorses that send synchronized signals so sat-nav receivers can triangulate their position on Earth.
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Global Times✔@globaltimesnews
China's private rocket company LinkSpace successfully launched a reusable rocket from Northwest China’s Qinghai Province on Saturday morning. The RLV-T5 rocket flew to a designated height of 300 meters and then safely landed with a landing accuracy of 7 centimeters in 50 seconds.
1:11 PM - Aug 10, 2019
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Chinese space startup to send heavy satellite
Source: Xinhua| 2019-08-14 16:37:37|Editor: Li Xia
BEIJING, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's Smart Dragon-1 rocket will carry a heavy satellite developed by a commercial Chinese space company in its upcoming launch, the Beijing Daily reported Wednesday.
The satellite, which weighs 65 kg, was manufactured by Beijing Qiansheng Exploration Technology Co., Ltd. founded in 2017 with a license to develop microsatellites and satellite data applications.
With remote sensing and communication functions, the satellite will provide soil moisture monitoring for a pilot site. The data and images captured by the satellite will have wide use in many sectors, the newspaper said.
The Smart Dragon-1 is China's first carrier rocket for commercial use. Produced by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, the rocket is scheduled to make its maiden flight this year.
The satellite will be sent into the solar synchronous orbit at an altitude of 540 km, according to the newspaper, citing a statement of the company.
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