China Space Military：Recon, Satcom, Navi, ASAT/BMD, Orbital Vehicle, SLV, etc.
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AIAA to Celebrate Achievements in Aerospace Sciences at its June Aviation and Aeronautics Forum and Exhibition
May 13, 2016 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) will celebrate technical achievements in aerospace sciences during a 12:30 p.m. luncheon on June 14, as part of the AIAA Aviation and Aeronautics Forum and Exposition (AVIATION 2016), June 13–17, at the Washington Hilton, Washington, D.C.
The honorees are:
AIAA To Celebrate Achievements in Aerospace Sciences at its June Aviation and Aeronautics Forum and Exhibition : The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
May 13, 2016 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) will celebrate technical achievements in aerospace sciences during a 12:30 p.m. luncheon on June 14, as part of the AIAA Aviation and Aeronautics Forum and Exposition (AVIATION 2016), June 13–17, at the Washington Hilton, Washington, D.C.
The honorees are:
- Pieter Buning, an aerospace technologist at NASA’s Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, will receive the 2016 AIAA Aerodynamics Award. The award recognizes Buning’s “exceptional leadership, innovation and expertise in the field of overset grip computational fluid dynamic methods and applications that are used internationally for wide-spread advancements in the aerodynamic design and development of air and space vehicles.”
- Alan C. Eckbreth, management/engineering consultant, Glastonbury, Connecticut, will receive the 2016 AIAA Aerodynamic Measurement Technology Award. The award recognizes Eckbreth’s “seminal contributions to the emerging field of laser diagnostics for combustion, especially for his work in coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering spectroscopy.”
- Moshe Matalon, Caterpillar Distinguished Professor, mechanical science and engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, will receive the 2016 AIAA Fluid Dynamics Award. The award recognizes Matalon’s “contributions to the development of combustion theory, for revolutionizing understanding of chemically reacting flows, and for work on the hydrodynamic theory of premixed flames.”
- Zonglin Jiang, professor, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, will receive the 2016 AIAA Ground Testing Award. The award recognizes Jiang’s “skillful leadership in conceiving, developing and successfully commissioning the world’s largest shock tunnel capable of true hypersonic flight simulation.”
- William L. Smith, professor emeritus and senior scientist, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, and distinguished professor, atmospheric and planetary sciences, Hampton University, Hampton, Virginia, will receive the 2016 AIAA Losey Atmospheric Sciences Award. The award recognizes Smith’s “visionary and pioneering ultraspectral resolution sounding techniques used for current and future polar satellite advanced infrared sounding systems for improved weather forecasting.”
- Eric J. Jumper, Roth-Gibson Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, will receive the 2016 AIAA Plasmadynamics & Lasers Award. The award recognizes Jumper’s “major contributions in the fields of aero-optics, chemical lasers, and laser supported detonation, and for the mentoring of young engineers and scientists.”
- George Cunnington, CEO, Cunnington and Associates, Palo Alto, California, will receive the 2016 AIAA Thermophysics Award. The award recognizes Cunnington’s “lifelong contributions to the development of thermal protection systems, multi-layer cryogenic insulation systems, and radiative heat transfer analysis techniques.
AIAA To Celebrate Achievements in Aerospace Sciences at its June Aviation and Aeronautics Forum and Exhibition : The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
###
The "world’s largest shock tunnel capable of true hypersonic flight simulation" referred to in the award is
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Sweden joins China's historic mission to land on the far side of the Moon
ANDREW JONES
2016/05/16
A view of the far side of the Moon and the distant Earth, captured by the service module for the 2014 Chang’e 5-T1 mission. (Photo: CAS)
TAGS:
If you’ve seen still images of Nasa's Apollo Moon landings then you’ve witnessed the work of modified Swedish Hasselblad cameras.
And Sweden’s presence is soon to be felt on the Moon once again, this time on another unprecedented journey - China’sChang’e-4 mission to the untouched lunar far side, which is never visible from Earth due to gravitational or tidal locking.
Following an agreement signed with the National Space Science Centre (NSSC) in Beijing, the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) in Kiruna in the country’s remote far north will provide one of the scientific payloads on the mission that will further our understanding of our celestial neighbour.
Above: Kiruna Space Campus (Image: Torbjörn Lövgren, IRF).
Chang'e-4 involves a lander and rover and is currently scheduled to launch in late 2018, once a relay satellite has been sent into a halo orbit around the Earth-Moon L2 Lagrange point in order to facilitate communication and control of the Chang'e-4 lander and rover on the Moon's far side.
The instrument, developed by Martin Wieser and colleagues in Kiruna, is the Advanced Small Analyzer for Neutrals (ASAN), a detector for energetic neutral atoms.
It will reveal how solar wind interacts with the lunar surface and perhaps even the process behind the formation of lunar water. An earlier version of the instrument flew on India’s Chandrayaan I orbiter which launched in 2008.
Above: The Advanced Small Analyzer for Neutrals (ASAN) instrument built by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) in Kiruna (Image: M. Wieser, IRF).
“In the mission with India we discovered that about 20 percent of this solar wind which hits the lunar surface is reflected back to space as the so-called energetic neutral atoms. That was completely unexpected: The lunar surface is very porous, so it was thought everything would be absorbed," Wieser explains.
"The physics of the reflection process at the surface are still a bit of a mystery...And that's where our interest comes from for trying to put a detector for such energetic neutral atoms directly onto the lunar surface."
This time, the detector will be on the mobile rover which take its instruments away from the contaminated blast area of touchdown and will explore an area of the fascinating South Pole-Aitken Basin.
The NSSC, operating under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) under Dr Wu Ji, will be responsible for integrating the payloads onto Chang'e-4, as it does for subsystems for space science missions and China's Shenzhou human spaceflight missions and Tiangong space labs.
Above: A colour-coded topographical map of the far side of the Moon showing the South Pole-Aitken Basin, with blue indicating lowest areas, red the highest (NASA).
Wieser says the sensor will allow scientists to see how solar winds interact with lunar regolith, as the material on lunar surface is called.
And it could give insights into the presence of one of the most interesting and useful compounds on the Moon, which could be harnessed by In-situ resource utilisation (IRSU) techniques for fuel for missions into deep space – water.
“[Solar wind] is one of the proposed mechanisms to produce water on the Moon,” Wieser says. “You have heard the stories that various missions discovered water on the lunar poles, and it's completely unclear so far which mechanism makes it”.
The lunar water present in the permanently shadowed craters at the Moon's poles is attracting a lot of attention, and is crucial to the viability of concepts for a lunar base, such as the Moon Village vision proposed by European Space Agency Director-General Johann-Dietrich Woerner.
Carrying out this detection on the far side is especially interesting for Wieser as it is far more exposed to solar winds than the near side. For a large part of the Moon's orbit around the Earth, the near side is either facing away from the Sun or within the Earth’s protective magnetosphere.
“So for us, the lunar far side is a very interesting place because that's where the action is,” Wieser explains.
'Monumental mission'
The lunar far side is more than a mere curiosity due to its isolation, but a scientifically intriguing area that was marked out as a priority for exploration in the National Research Council's planetary science Decadal Survey 2013-2022, which strongly influences the space science undertaken by the United States.
Ian Crawford, professor of planetary science and astrobiology at Birkbeck University of London, says the mission could have monumental significance.
“If China is successful in landing Chang'e 4 on the far side of the Moon, this will be an enormously significant event in the history of space exploration, in the exploration of the Moon, and a tremendous boost for lunar science,” Crawford says.
Zou Yongliao of CAS revealed at the 46th Lunar and Planetary Science in March that the landing site would be near the centre of the South Pole-Aitken Basin; a huge impact crater that could offer deep insights into the Moon’s interior and its formation.
Follow
Emily Lakdawalla @elakdawalla
Yongliao: Chang'e 4 will land near center of south-pole Aitken basin, launching late 2018 or early 2019. #LPSC2016
Crawford explains that the 2,500 kilometre diameter and roughly 13-kilometre-deep impact crater is an intriguing site, which could tell us more about the deep interior of the Moon than any other landing site so far.
“Both the age and the composition of the subsurface in the South Pole-Aitken basin are of interest. The basin is so deep that it’s certainly penetrating it down into the lower crust of the Moon, so far deeper than any near-side samples or measurements made.
“And it's possible that even parts of the lunar mantle might be exposed,” Professor Crawford adds.
Chang’e-4 is the now-repurposed backup to the Chang’e-3 mission that successfully put a lander and the Yutu (‘Jade Rabbit’) rover on the near side of the Moon in late 2013.
Above: China's Yutu ('Jade Rabbit') lunar rover on the Moon (CAS).
That mission carried a ground-penetrating radar and was one of the most exciting aspects of Chang’e-3, according to Crawford, and would be valuable on Chang’e-4, as it could increase our understanding of the structure of lunar regolith.
“I think by far the most interesting observations Chang’e-4 could make anywhere is the geochemical composition of the surface materials, the surface rocks and soils. This is done with instruments like X-ray florescent spectrometers or from alpha particle X-rays,” Crawford says.
It is not certain that the mission will include instruments such as an Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) as Chang’e-3 did, but Chang’e-4 is though is expected to carry cameras similar to those of Chang’e-3 which returned spectacular shots of the Moon.
It will also carry telescopes working on various frequencies which will take advantage of the ‘quiet’ provided by being outside of Earth’s ionosphere, and the shielding of the Moon from our planet’s electromagnetic interference.
More details on Chang'e-4's payloads and objectives are likely to be revealed at the European Luanr Symposium in the Netherlands later this week.
Lunar water
Another instrument confirmed for Chang’e-4 is the Lunar Lander Neutron Dosimetry (LND) project developed by Kiel University in Germany.
The experiment will measure radiation on the Moon in preparation for future manned missions and could also measure the water content of the ground beneath the landing unit.
This, together with the choice of Kiruna’s ASAN detector, suggests that water on the Moon is of great interest to China, hinting that the Chang’e-4 mission has an eye on future human exploration and utilisation of the Moon.
Beyond Chang’e-4, there are hopes that, if next year’s Chang’e-5 lunar sample return mission succeeds, its backup – Chang’e-6 – could attempt to retrieve samples from the far side. Such a mission would offer a much better opportunity to answer questions of lunar geology.
But what is certain is that a successful Chang’e-4 mission will be a major event, regardless of its makeup, Crawford says.
“Scientifically, it will be of great interest because the far side is different from the near side. And geopolitically, it will be a huge propaganda kill for China because they will be able to say quite correctly that no-one's done it before.
“And so just in the history of space exploration, it will be significant for that reason.”
http://gbtimes.com/china/sweden-joins-chinas-historic-mission-land-far-side-moon
Both Swedish and Dutch contributions to the mission. Reported at European Lunar Symposium
Quote
After Sweden, Holland will also join China's Chang'e4 with a radio antenna telescope! #moonvillage
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=30377.40
ANDREW JONES
2016/05/16
A view of the far side of the Moon and the distant Earth, captured by the service module for the 2014 Chang’e 5-T1 mission. (Photo: CAS)TAGS:
- China's space program
- Chang'e-4
- Sweden
- Far side of the Moon
- National Space Science Center
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Moon
- Chang'e-3
- Chang'e-5
- Chang’e-6
- Martin Wieser
- Wu Ji
- Johann-Dietrich Woerner
- Ian Crawford
- Zou Yongliao
If you’ve seen still images of Nasa's Apollo Moon landings then you’ve witnessed the work of modified Swedish Hasselblad cameras.
And Sweden’s presence is soon to be felt on the Moon once again, this time on another unprecedented journey - China’sChang’e-4 mission to the untouched lunar far side, which is never visible from Earth due to gravitational or tidal locking.
Following an agreement signed with the National Space Science Centre (NSSC) in Beijing, the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) in Kiruna in the country’s remote far north will provide one of the scientific payloads on the mission that will further our understanding of our celestial neighbour.
Above: Kiruna Space Campus (Image: Torbjörn Lövgren, IRF).
Chang'e-4 involves a lander and rover and is currently scheduled to launch in late 2018, once a relay satellite has been sent into a halo orbit around the Earth-Moon L2 Lagrange point in order to facilitate communication and control of the Chang'e-4 lander and rover on the Moon's far side.
The instrument, developed by Martin Wieser and colleagues in Kiruna, is the Advanced Small Analyzer for Neutrals (ASAN), a detector for energetic neutral atoms.
It will reveal how solar wind interacts with the lunar surface and perhaps even the process behind the formation of lunar water. An earlier version of the instrument flew on India’s Chandrayaan I orbiter which launched in 2008.
Above: The Advanced Small Analyzer for Neutrals (ASAN) instrument built by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) in Kiruna (Image: M. Wieser, IRF).
“In the mission with India we discovered that about 20 percent of this solar wind which hits the lunar surface is reflected back to space as the so-called energetic neutral atoms. That was completely unexpected: The lunar surface is very porous, so it was thought everything would be absorbed," Wieser explains.
"The physics of the reflection process at the surface are still a bit of a mystery...And that's where our interest comes from for trying to put a detector for such energetic neutral atoms directly onto the lunar surface."
This time, the detector will be on the mobile rover which take its instruments away from the contaminated blast area of touchdown and will explore an area of the fascinating South Pole-Aitken Basin.
The NSSC, operating under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) under Dr Wu Ji, will be responsible for integrating the payloads onto Chang'e-4, as it does for subsystems for space science missions and China's Shenzhou human spaceflight missions and Tiangong space labs.
Above: A colour-coded topographical map of the far side of the Moon showing the South Pole-Aitken Basin, with blue indicating lowest areas, red the highest (NASA).
Wieser says the sensor will allow scientists to see how solar winds interact with lunar regolith, as the material on lunar surface is called.
And it could give insights into the presence of one of the most interesting and useful compounds on the Moon, which could be harnessed by In-situ resource utilisation (IRSU) techniques for fuel for missions into deep space – water.
“[Solar wind] is one of the proposed mechanisms to produce water on the Moon,” Wieser says. “You have heard the stories that various missions discovered water on the lunar poles, and it's completely unclear so far which mechanism makes it”.
The lunar water present in the permanently shadowed craters at the Moon's poles is attracting a lot of attention, and is crucial to the viability of concepts for a lunar base, such as the Moon Village vision proposed by European Space Agency Director-General Johann-Dietrich Woerner.
Carrying out this detection on the far side is especially interesting for Wieser as it is far more exposed to solar winds than the near side. For a large part of the Moon's orbit around the Earth, the near side is either facing away from the Sun or within the Earth’s protective magnetosphere.
“So for us, the lunar far side is a very interesting place because that's where the action is,” Wieser explains.
'Monumental mission'
The lunar far side is more than a mere curiosity due to its isolation, but a scientifically intriguing area that was marked out as a priority for exploration in the National Research Council's planetary science Decadal Survey 2013-2022, which strongly influences the space science undertaken by the United States.
Ian Crawford, professor of planetary science and astrobiology at Birkbeck University of London, says the mission could have monumental significance.
“If China is successful in landing Chang'e 4 on the far side of the Moon, this will be an enormously significant event in the history of space exploration, in the exploration of the Moon, and a tremendous boost for lunar science,” Crawford says.
Zou Yongliao of CAS revealed at the 46th Lunar and Planetary Science in March that the landing site would be near the centre of the South Pole-Aitken Basin; a huge impact crater that could offer deep insights into the Moon’s interior and its formation.
Follow
Emily Lakdawalla @elakdawallaYongliao: Chang'e 4 will land near center of south-pole Aitken basin, launching late 2018 or early 2019. #LPSC2016
Crawford explains that the 2,500 kilometre diameter and roughly 13-kilometre-deep impact crater is an intriguing site, which could tell us more about the deep interior of the Moon than any other landing site so far.
“Both the age and the composition of the subsurface in the South Pole-Aitken basin are of interest. The basin is so deep that it’s certainly penetrating it down into the lower crust of the Moon, so far deeper than any near-side samples or measurements made.
“And it's possible that even parts of the lunar mantle might be exposed,” Professor Crawford adds.
Chang’e-4 is the now-repurposed backup to the Chang’e-3 mission that successfully put a lander and the Yutu (‘Jade Rabbit’) rover on the near side of the Moon in late 2013.
Above: China's Yutu ('Jade Rabbit') lunar rover on the Moon (CAS).
That mission carried a ground-penetrating radar and was one of the most exciting aspects of Chang’e-3, according to Crawford, and would be valuable on Chang’e-4, as it could increase our understanding of the structure of lunar regolith.
“I think by far the most interesting observations Chang’e-4 could make anywhere is the geochemical composition of the surface materials, the surface rocks and soils. This is done with instruments like X-ray florescent spectrometers or from alpha particle X-rays,” Crawford says.
It is not certain that the mission will include instruments such as an Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) as Chang’e-3 did, but Chang’e-4 is though is expected to carry cameras similar to those of Chang’e-3 which returned spectacular shots of the Moon.
It will also carry telescopes working on various frequencies which will take advantage of the ‘quiet’ provided by being outside of Earth’s ionosphere, and the shielding of the Moon from our planet’s electromagnetic interference.
More details on Chang'e-4's payloads and objectives are likely to be revealed at the European Luanr Symposium in the Netherlands later this week.
Lunar water
Another instrument confirmed for Chang’e-4 is the Lunar Lander Neutron Dosimetry (LND) project developed by Kiel University in Germany.
The experiment will measure radiation on the Moon in preparation for future manned missions and could also measure the water content of the ground beneath the landing unit.
This, together with the choice of Kiruna’s ASAN detector, suggests that water on the Moon is of great interest to China, hinting that the Chang’e-4 mission has an eye on future human exploration and utilisation of the Moon.
Beyond Chang’e-4, there are hopes that, if next year’s Chang’e-5 lunar sample return mission succeeds, its backup – Chang’e-6 – could attempt to retrieve samples from the far side. Such a mission would offer a much better opportunity to answer questions of lunar geology.
But what is certain is that a successful Chang’e-4 mission will be a major event, regardless of its makeup, Crawford says.
“Scientifically, it will be of great interest because the far side is different from the near side. And geopolitically, it will be a huge propaganda kill for China because they will be able to say quite correctly that no-one's done it before.
“And so just in the history of space exploration, it will be significant for that reason.”
http://gbtimes.com/china/sweden-joins-chinas-historic-mission-land-far-side-moon
Both Swedish and Dutch contributions to the mission. Reported at European Lunar Symposium
Quote
After Sweden, Holland will also join China's Chang'e4 with a radio antenna telescope! #moonvillage
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=30377.40
Chang'e 5 lunar probe to land on Moon and return in 2017
(Xinhua)Updated: 2016-05-27 07:35
An illustration of Chang'e 5. [Photo from web]
BEIJING - China will send lunar probe Chang'e 5 to land on the moon and return with lunar samples in the second half of 2017, according to State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) on Friday.
It will be the first time a Chinese probe to land on the moon, collect samples and return to Earth, and the third stage of China's lunar exploration endeavor, said the SASTIND.
The first stage of lunar expedition was achieved by sending Chang'e 1, a circumlunar satellite, in 2007. China landed its first lunar probe Chang'e 3 on the surface of the moon in 2013.
China is also planning to be the first country to land on the far side of the moon. That mission will be carried out by Chang'e-4, a backup for Chang'e-3, and is due to be launched in 2018, according to SASTIND.
China plans to orbit Mars, land and deploy a rover around 2020.
The country will also unveil a new generation of carrier rockets including Long March 5 and 7 in 2016, along with other new satellites and spacelabs.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2016-05/27/content_25486034.htm
(Xinhua)Updated: 2016-05-27 07:35
An illustration of Chang'e 5. [Photo from web]
BEIJING - China will send lunar probe Chang'e 5 to land on the moon and return with lunar samples in the second half of 2017, according to State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) on Friday.
It will be the first time a Chinese probe to land on the moon, collect samples and return to Earth, and the third stage of China's lunar exploration endeavor, said the SASTIND.
The first stage of lunar expedition was achieved by sending Chang'e 1, a circumlunar satellite, in 2007. China landed its first lunar probe Chang'e 3 on the surface of the moon in 2013.
China is also planning to be the first country to land on the far side of the moon. That mission will be carried out by Chang'e-4, a backup for Chang'e-3, and is due to be launched in 2018, according to SASTIND.
China plans to orbit Mars, land and deploy a rover around 2020.
The country will also unveil a new generation of carrier rockets including Long March 5 and 7 in 2016, along with other new satellites and spacelabs.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2016-05/27/content_25486034.htm
cirr
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Chinese Long March 4B lofts satellites for Ziyuan-3 and Aleph-1 programs
May 29, 2016 by Rui C. Barbosa
China launched a new high-resolution remote sensing satellite on Monday around 03:17 UTC using the Long March 4B (Chang Zheng-4B) launch vehicle from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center’s LC9 launch platform. The Ziyuan-3 (2) is the second high-resolution geological mapping satellite, to be used for civil purposes. The launch included two satellites for the Aleph-1 constellation.
Chinese Launch – Ziyuan-3:
The new satellite is the second of a series of high-resolution civilian remote sensing satellites, grown from a project that was initiated in March 2008.
With Ziyuan-3 (2) the global coverage period is shortened by half and the re-visit cycle is shortened from five days to three days. Also, the resolution of the stereo mapping camera was improved from 3.5 to 2.7m.
The new satellite carries three high-resolution panchromatic cameras and an infrared multispectral scanner (IRMSS). The cameras are positioned at the front-facing, ground-facing and rear-facing positions.
Two cameras (front-facing and rear-facing) have a spectral resolution of 2.7m and 52.3km ground swath while the ground-facing camera has a spectral resolution of 2.1m and 51.1km ground swath. The IRMSS has a spectral resolution of 6.0m and 51.0km ground swath.
The satellite is equipped with two 3 meters solar arrays for power generation and will orbit a 505.984 km sun-synchronous solar orbit with a 97.421 degree inclination. This orbit will have a re-visit cycle of 5 days.
The operational period will be four years with a possible life extension to five years.
The new satellite will conduct surveys on land resources, help with natural disaster-reduction and prevention and lend assistance to farming, water conservation, urban planning and other sectors, surveying the area between 84 degrees north and 84 degrees south latitude.
The spacecraft is composed of a service module and a payload module. The service module provides supporting functions to the spacecraft such as structure and mechanisms, power generation, control and pointing services, data management subsystem, temperature maintenance, propulsion subsystem, and TT&C (Tracking Telemetry and Command) services.
The payload module includes the sensor complement, the DTS (Data Transmission System), and the image data recording system. The three-line array camera is mounted on top of the spacecraft payload module, pointing toward Earth.
The ZY-3 satellites are designed and constructed by CAST/BISSE (China’s Academy of Space Technology)/Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering) for the Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR), using modified ZY-2 platform. The spacecraft is 3-axis stabilized, with the launch mass about 2,630 kg.
The ZiYuan program appears to cover different civil and military earth observation – as well as remote sensing – programs. The ZiYuan-1 program is focused on Earth resources and appears to have two distinct military and civil branches – with this one operated together with Brazil.
The satellites are operated jointly by the Center for Earth Operation and Digital Earth (CEODE) and the Brazilian INPE (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais – National Institute of Space Research).
The ZiYuan-2 program is likely used for aerial surveillance operated by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) while the new ZiYuan-3 series will be used for stereo mapping, like the TH-1 TianHui-1 mapping satellite that is operated by the PLA. ZiYuan-3 will be operated by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping.
The Aleph constellation:
The additional payload on this launch is composed of the Argentinian ÑuSat-1 and ÑuSat-2 satellites that are the first satellites in the Aleph-1 constellation that is being developed and operated by Satellogic S.A..
The Aleph-1 constellation will consist of up to 25 satellites.
The two satellites are almost identical to each other and have a mass of 37 kg, with dimensions 450mm x 450mm x 800mm. The primary objective of the mission is to commercially provide earth observation images to the general public in the visible and infrared parts of the spectrum.
ÑuSat-1 carries a U/V linear transponder provided by AMSAT-LU to offer services to the HAM community. In addition to operation in other services with downlinks on 8GHz and uplinks on 2GHz, the group is proposing a U/V linear.
The U/V inverting transponder, named LUSEX, will have an uplink of 435.935 MHz to 435.965 MHz and a downlink of 145.965 MHz to 145.935 MHz. With 250 mW. There will also be a CW beacon at 145.900 MHz with 70 mW.
AMSAT-LU provides simultaneous support for this mission and the ÑuSat-2 mission, by operating one of the control stations at Tortuguitas, Buenos Aires.
Both satellites are equipped with cameras operating in visible light and infrared and will operate in 500 km SSO orbit with inclination at 97.5 degrees.
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/05/chinese-long-march-4b-ziyuan-aleph/
May 29, 2016 by Rui C. Barbosa
China launched a new high-resolution remote sensing satellite on Monday around 03:17 UTC using the Long March 4B (Chang Zheng-4B) launch vehicle from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center’s LC9 launch platform. The Ziyuan-3 (2) is the second high-resolution geological mapping satellite, to be used for civil purposes. The launch included two satellites for the Aleph-1 constellation.
Chinese Launch – Ziyuan-3:
The new satellite is the second of a series of high-resolution civilian remote sensing satellites, grown from a project that was initiated in March 2008.
With Ziyuan-3 (2) the global coverage period is shortened by half and the re-visit cycle is shortened from five days to three days. Also, the resolution of the stereo mapping camera was improved from 3.5 to 2.7m.
The new satellite carries three high-resolution panchromatic cameras and an infrared multispectral scanner (IRMSS). The cameras are positioned at the front-facing, ground-facing and rear-facing positions.
Two cameras (front-facing and rear-facing) have a spectral resolution of 2.7m and 52.3km ground swath while the ground-facing camera has a spectral resolution of 2.1m and 51.1km ground swath. The IRMSS has a spectral resolution of 6.0m and 51.0km ground swath.
The satellite is equipped with two 3 meters solar arrays for power generation and will orbit a 505.984 km sun-synchronous solar orbit with a 97.421 degree inclination. This orbit will have a re-visit cycle of 5 days.
The operational period will be four years with a possible life extension to five years.
The new satellite will conduct surveys on land resources, help with natural disaster-reduction and prevention and lend assistance to farming, water conservation, urban planning and other sectors, surveying the area between 84 degrees north and 84 degrees south latitude.
The spacecraft is composed of a service module and a payload module. The service module provides supporting functions to the spacecraft such as structure and mechanisms, power generation, control and pointing services, data management subsystem, temperature maintenance, propulsion subsystem, and TT&C (Tracking Telemetry and Command) services.
The payload module includes the sensor complement, the DTS (Data Transmission System), and the image data recording system. The three-line array camera is mounted on top of the spacecraft payload module, pointing toward Earth.
The ZY-3 satellites are designed and constructed by CAST/BISSE (China’s Academy of Space Technology)/Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering) for the Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR), using modified ZY-2 platform. The spacecraft is 3-axis stabilized, with the launch mass about 2,630 kg.
The ZiYuan program appears to cover different civil and military earth observation – as well as remote sensing – programs. The ZiYuan-1 program is focused on Earth resources and appears to have two distinct military and civil branches – with this one operated together with Brazil.
The satellites are operated jointly by the Center for Earth Operation and Digital Earth (CEODE) and the Brazilian INPE (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais – National Institute of Space Research).
The ZiYuan-2 program is likely used for aerial surveillance operated by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) while the new ZiYuan-3 series will be used for stereo mapping, like the TH-1 TianHui-1 mapping satellite that is operated by the PLA. ZiYuan-3 will be operated by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping.
The Aleph constellation:
The additional payload on this launch is composed of the Argentinian ÑuSat-1 and ÑuSat-2 satellites that are the first satellites in the Aleph-1 constellation that is being developed and operated by Satellogic S.A..
The Aleph-1 constellation will consist of up to 25 satellites.
The two satellites are almost identical to each other and have a mass of 37 kg, with dimensions 450mm x 450mm x 800mm. The primary objective of the mission is to commercially provide earth observation images to the general public in the visible and infrared parts of the spectrum.
ÑuSat-1 carries a U/V linear transponder provided by AMSAT-LU to offer services to the HAM community. In addition to operation in other services with downlinks on 8GHz and uplinks on 2GHz, the group is proposing a U/V linear.
The U/V inverting transponder, named LUSEX, will have an uplink of 435.935 MHz to 435.965 MHz and a downlink of 145.965 MHz to 145.935 MHz. With 250 mW. There will also be a CW beacon at 145.900 MHz with 70 mW.
AMSAT-LU provides simultaneous support for this mission and the ÑuSat-2 mission, by operating one of the control stations at Tortuguitas, Buenos Aires.
Both satellites are equipped with cameras operating in visible light and infrared and will operate in 500 km SSO orbit with inclination at 97.5 degrees.
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/05/chinese-long-march-4b-ziyuan-aleph/
JSCh
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Beidou navigation helps herdsmen feed sheep, cattle from home
Source: Xinhua 2016-06-04 14:18:19
HOHHOT, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Seevan, 39, from Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, is one of the first herdsman to benefit from a unique service supported by Beidou, a Chinese navigation system similar to GPS.
Using a device similar in size to an iPhone 6, Seevan can control the water pumps for the wells across his 200 ha of grassland, and feed his animals remotely.
Thanks to the new system, his cattle and sheep now have access to clean water at the touch of the button, and Seevan does not have to go to every well, some of which are tens of miles apart.
Gone are the days when Seevan would have to navigate the bumpy grasslands -- a trip he would take daily in winter and twice a day in summer -- to turn on the water pumps and wait for his heard to drink before tuning them back off again.
Now he can do all this from the comfort of his home.
The system was jointly developed by Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology and the animal husbandry bureau of Hangjin Banner (County), Erdos City, in north China.
Chuluu, head of the bureau's information center, said that users can decide when they want the pumps to turn on and off. Herdsmen can also monitor their animals from the device.
Seevan is the first user to use the service, which will cost him around 300 yuan (c.46 U.S. dollars) a month.
"This fee will drop when more herdsmen join," said Chuluu. The younger generation of herdsmen are more willing to new approaches to animal husbandry so that they can spend more time on other things.
"Now I have more time to make Matouqin," he said, referring to the bowed stringed instrument carved into the shape of a horse's head. It is popular among the Mongolian ethnic group.
Named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper, the Beidou project began in 1994, some 20 years after GPS.
A regional Beidou network has taken shape, providing positioning, navigation, timing and short message services for China and several other Asian countries.
Source: Xinhua 2016-06-04 14:18:19
HOHHOT, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Seevan, 39, from Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, is one of the first herdsman to benefit from a unique service supported by Beidou, a Chinese navigation system similar to GPS.
Using a device similar in size to an iPhone 6, Seevan can control the water pumps for the wells across his 200 ha of grassland, and feed his animals remotely.
Thanks to the new system, his cattle and sheep now have access to clean water at the touch of the button, and Seevan does not have to go to every well, some of which are tens of miles apart.
Gone are the days when Seevan would have to navigate the bumpy grasslands -- a trip he would take daily in winter and twice a day in summer -- to turn on the water pumps and wait for his heard to drink before tuning them back off again.
Now he can do all this from the comfort of his home.
The system was jointly developed by Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology and the animal husbandry bureau of Hangjin Banner (County), Erdos City, in north China.
Chuluu, head of the bureau's information center, said that users can decide when they want the pumps to turn on and off. Herdsmen can also monitor their animals from the device.
Seevan is the first user to use the service, which will cost him around 300 yuan (c.46 U.S. dollars) a month.
"This fee will drop when more herdsmen join," said Chuluu. The younger generation of herdsmen are more willing to new approaches to animal husbandry so that they can spend more time on other things.
"Now I have more time to make Matouqin," he said, referring to the bowed stringed instrument carved into the shape of a horse's head. It is popular among the Mongolian ethnic group.
Named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper, the Beidou project began in 1994, some 20 years after GPS.
A regional Beidou network has taken shape, providing positioning, navigation, timing and short message services for China and several other Asian countries.
TaiShang
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Beidou navigation helps herdsmen feed sheep, cattle from home
Xinhua, June 4, 2016
Seevan, 39, from Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, is one of the first herdsman to benefit from a unique service supported by Beidou, China's navigation system.
Using a device similar in size to a Huawei Mate, Seevan can control the water pumps for the wells across his 200 ha of grassland, and feed his animals remotely.
Thanks to the new system, his cattle and sheep now have access to clean water at the touch of the button, and Seevan does not have to go to every well, some of which are tens of miles apart.
Gone are the days when Seevan would have to navigate the bumpy grasslands -- a trip he would take daily in winter and twice a day in summer -- to turn on the water pumps and wait for his heard to drink before tuning them back off again.
Now he can do all this from the comfort of his home.
The system was jointly developed by Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology and the animal husbandry bureau of Hangjin Banner (County), Erdos City, in north China.
Chuluu, head of the bureau's information center, said that users can decide when they want the pumps to turn on and off. Herdsmen can also monitor their animals from the device.
Seevan is the first user to use the service, which will cost him around 300 yuan (c.46 U.S. dollars) a month.
"This fee will drop when more herdsmen join," said Chuluu. The younger generation of herdsmen are more willing to new approaches to animal husbandry so that they can spend more time on other things.
"Now I have more time to make Matouqin," he said, referring to the bowed stringed instrument carved into the shape of a horse's head. It is popular among the Mongolian ethnic group.
Named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper, the Beidou project began in 1994, some 20 years after GPS.
A regional Beidou network has taken shape, providing positioning, navigation, timing and short message services for China and several other Asian countries.
Xinhua, June 4, 2016
Seevan, 39, from Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, is one of the first herdsman to benefit from a unique service supported by Beidou, China's navigation system.
Using a device similar in size to a Huawei Mate, Seevan can control the water pumps for the wells across his 200 ha of grassland, and feed his animals remotely.
Thanks to the new system, his cattle and sheep now have access to clean water at the touch of the button, and Seevan does not have to go to every well, some of which are tens of miles apart.
Gone are the days when Seevan would have to navigate the bumpy grasslands -- a trip he would take daily in winter and twice a day in summer -- to turn on the water pumps and wait for his heard to drink before tuning them back off again.
Now he can do all this from the comfort of his home.
The system was jointly developed by Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology and the animal husbandry bureau of Hangjin Banner (County), Erdos City, in north China.
Chuluu, head of the bureau's information center, said that users can decide when they want the pumps to turn on and off. Herdsmen can also monitor their animals from the device.
Seevan is the first user to use the service, which will cost him around 300 yuan (c.46 U.S. dollars) a month.
"This fee will drop when more herdsmen join," said Chuluu. The younger generation of herdsmen are more willing to new approaches to animal husbandry so that they can spend more time on other things.
"Now I have more time to make Matouqin," he said, referring to the bowed stringed instrument carved into the shape of a horse's head. It is popular among the Mongolian ethnic group.
Named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper, the Beidou project began in 1994, some 20 years after GPS.
A regional Beidou network has taken shape, providing positioning, navigation, timing and short message services for China and several other Asian countries.
onebyone
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Long March 3C launches BeiDou-2 G7
June 12, 2016 by Rui C. Barbosa
The Chinese have launched the latest BeiDou-2 Compass satellite via a Long March 3C rocket. The launch – which further supplements China’s Compass Navigation Satellite System (CNSS) – took place at 15:30 UTC from Pad 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, in Sichuan Province.
China’s Record:
The Compass Navigation Satellite System (CNSS) is China’s second-generation satellite navigation system approved by the Chinese government in 2004, and is capable of providing continuous, real-time passive 3D geo-spatial positioning and speed measurement.
The system was initially used to provide high-accuracy positioning services for users in China and its neighboring regions, covering an area of about 120 degrees longitude in the Northern Hemisphere. The long-term goal is to develop a global navigation satellite network similar to the GPS and GLONASS by 2020.
The system will have two kinds of services: a civilian service that will give an accuracy of 10 meters in the user position, 0.2 m/s on the user velocity and 50 nanoseconds in time accuracy; and the military and authorized user’s service, providing higher accuracies. The first phase of the project will see the coverage of the Chinese territory but in the future the Compass constellation will cover the entire globe.
The satellites transmit signals on the: 1195.14-1219.14MHz, 1256.52-1280.52MHz, 1559.05-1563.15MHz and 1587.69-1591.79MHz, carrier frequencies.
The satellites were developed via the DFH-3B satellite platform and have a lifespan of eight years.
This constellation of Compass satellites will consist of 35 vehicles, including 30 MEO (21,500 km orbits) and IGSO (inclined at 55 degrees) satellites and five GSO satellites.
The Chinese are also building towards the completion of the Phase III of the Beidou program, several years ahead of schedule. The Beidou 3 constellation may be ready as soon as 2017, rather than the previous target of 2020.
This mission used the Long March 3C rocket.
The Long March-3C was developed to fill the gap between the Long March-3A and the Long March-3B, having a payload capacity of 3,800 kg for GTO or 9,100 kg for LEO. This is a three stage launch vehicle identical to the CZ-3B but only using two of the strap-on boosters on its first stage.
CZ-3C provides two types of fairing and two kinds of fairing encapsulating process and four different payload interfaces, which is the same as CZ-3B launch vehicle. The various fairing and interface adapter and the suitable launch capacity make CZ-3C a good choice for the user to choose the launch service.
The development of the CZ-3C started in February 1999. The rocket has a liftoff mass of 345,000 kg, sporting structure functions to withstand the various internal and external loads on the launch vehicle during transportation, hoisting and flight.
The rocket structure also combines all sub-systems together and is composed of two strap-on boosters, a first stage, a second stage, a third stage and payload fairing.
The first two stages as well as the two strap-on boosters use hypergolic (N2O4/UDMH) fuel while the third stage uses cryogenic (LOX/LH2) fuel. The total length of the CZ-3C is 54.838 meters, with a diameter of 3.35 meters on the core stage and 3.00 meters on the third stage.
On the first stage, the CZ-3C uses a DaFY6-2 engine with a 2961.6 kN thrust and a specific impulse of 2556.2 Ns/kg. The first stage diameter is 3.35 m and the stage length is 26.972 m.
Each strap-on booster is equipped with a DaFY5-1 engine with a 704.4 kN thrust and a specific impulse of 2556.2 Ns/kg. The strap-on booster diameter is 2.25 m and the strap-on booster length is 15.326 m.
The second stage is equipped with a DaFY20-1 main engine (742 kN / 2922.57 Ns/kg) and four DaFY21-1 vernier engines (11.8 kN / 2910.5 Ns/kg each). The second stage diameter is 3.35 m and the stage length is 9.470 m.
The third stage is equipped with two YF-75 engines developing 78.5 kN each and with a specific impulse of 4312 Ns/kg. The fairing diameter of the CZ-3C is 4.00 meters and has a length of 9.56 meters.
The Xichang Satellite Launch Centre is situated in the Sichuan Province, south-western China and is the country’s launch site for geosynchronous orbital launches.
Equipped with two launch pads (LC2 and LC3), the centre has a dedicated railway and highway lead directly to the launch site.
The Command and Control Centre is located seven kilometers south-west of the launch pad, providing flight and safety control during launch rehearsal and launch.
The CZ-3B launch pad is located at 28.25 deg. N – 102.02 deg. E and at an elevation of 1,825 meters.
Other facilities on the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre are the Launch Control Centre, propellant fuelling systems, communications systems for launch command, telephone and data communications for users, and support equipment for meteorological monitoring and forecasting.
The first launch from Xichang took place at 12:25UTC on January 29, 1984, when the Chang Zheng-3 (Y-1) was launched the Shiyan Weixing (14670 1984-008A) communications satellite into orbit.
No related posts.
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/06/long-march-3c-beidou-2-g7/
June 12, 2016 by Rui C. Barbosa
The Chinese have launched the latest BeiDou-2 Compass satellite via a Long March 3C rocket. The launch – which further supplements China’s Compass Navigation Satellite System (CNSS) – took place at 15:30 UTC from Pad 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, in Sichuan Province.
China’s Record:
The Compass Navigation Satellite System (CNSS) is China’s second-generation satellite navigation system approved by the Chinese government in 2004, and is capable of providing continuous, real-time passive 3D geo-spatial positioning and speed measurement.
The system was initially used to provide high-accuracy positioning services for users in China and its neighboring regions, covering an area of about 120 degrees longitude in the Northern Hemisphere. The long-term goal is to develop a global navigation satellite network similar to the GPS and GLONASS by 2020.
The system will have two kinds of services: a civilian service that will give an accuracy of 10 meters in the user position, 0.2 m/s on the user velocity and 50 nanoseconds in time accuracy; and the military and authorized user’s service, providing higher accuracies. The first phase of the project will see the coverage of the Chinese territory but in the future the Compass constellation will cover the entire globe.
The satellites transmit signals on the: 1195.14-1219.14MHz, 1256.52-1280.52MHz, 1559.05-1563.15MHz and 1587.69-1591.79MHz, carrier frequencies.
The satellites were developed via the DFH-3B satellite platform and have a lifespan of eight years.
This constellation of Compass satellites will consist of 35 vehicles, including 30 MEO (21,500 km orbits) and IGSO (inclined at 55 degrees) satellites and five GSO satellites.
The Chinese are also building towards the completion of the Phase III of the Beidou program, several years ahead of schedule. The Beidou 3 constellation may be ready as soon as 2017, rather than the previous target of 2020.
This mission used the Long March 3C rocket.
The Long March-3C was developed to fill the gap between the Long March-3A and the Long March-3B, having a payload capacity of 3,800 kg for GTO or 9,100 kg for LEO. This is a three stage launch vehicle identical to the CZ-3B but only using two of the strap-on boosters on its first stage.
CZ-3C provides two types of fairing and two kinds of fairing encapsulating process and four different payload interfaces, which is the same as CZ-3B launch vehicle. The various fairing and interface adapter and the suitable launch capacity make CZ-3C a good choice for the user to choose the launch service.
The development of the CZ-3C started in February 1999. The rocket has a liftoff mass of 345,000 kg, sporting structure functions to withstand the various internal and external loads on the launch vehicle during transportation, hoisting and flight.
The rocket structure also combines all sub-systems together and is composed of two strap-on boosters, a first stage, a second stage, a third stage and payload fairing.
The first two stages as well as the two strap-on boosters use hypergolic (N2O4/UDMH) fuel while the third stage uses cryogenic (LOX/LH2) fuel. The total length of the CZ-3C is 54.838 meters, with a diameter of 3.35 meters on the core stage and 3.00 meters on the third stage.
On the first stage, the CZ-3C uses a DaFY6-2 engine with a 2961.6 kN thrust and a specific impulse of 2556.2 Ns/kg. The first stage diameter is 3.35 m and the stage length is 26.972 m.
Each strap-on booster is equipped with a DaFY5-1 engine with a 704.4 kN thrust and a specific impulse of 2556.2 Ns/kg. The strap-on booster diameter is 2.25 m and the strap-on booster length is 15.326 m.
The second stage is equipped with a DaFY20-1 main engine (742 kN / 2922.57 Ns/kg) and four DaFY21-1 vernier engines (11.8 kN / 2910.5 Ns/kg each). The second stage diameter is 3.35 m and the stage length is 9.470 m.
The third stage is equipped with two YF-75 engines developing 78.5 kN each and with a specific impulse of 4312 Ns/kg. The fairing diameter of the CZ-3C is 4.00 meters and has a length of 9.56 meters.
The Xichang Satellite Launch Centre is situated in the Sichuan Province, south-western China and is the country’s launch site for geosynchronous orbital launches.
Equipped with two launch pads (LC2 and LC3), the centre has a dedicated railway and highway lead directly to the launch site.
The Command and Control Centre is located seven kilometers south-west of the launch pad, providing flight and safety control during launch rehearsal and launch.
The CZ-3B launch pad is located at 28.25 deg. N – 102.02 deg. E and at an elevation of 1,825 meters.
Other facilities on the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre are the Launch Control Centre, propellant fuelling systems, communications systems for launch command, telephone and data communications for users, and support equipment for meteorological monitoring and forecasting.
The first launch from Xichang took place at 12:25UTC on January 29, 1984, when the Chang Zheng-3 (Y-1) was launched the Shiyan Weixing (14670 1984-008A) communications satellite into orbit.
No related posts.
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/06/long-march-3c-beidou-2-g7/
onebyone
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http://www.weibo.com/p/23044427afc8fd26caeab7dbe6e653b408f3a9
China launches 23rd BeiDou navigation satellite
Source: Xinhua | 2016-06-13 01:18:31 | Editor: huaxia
XICHANG, Sichuan, June 13 (Xinhua) -- China launched a satellite to support its global navigation and positioning network at 11:30 p.m. Sunday.
The satellite, launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, was taken into orbit by a Long March-3C carrier rocket. It is the 23rd satellite in the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), which is being developed as an alternative to U.S. GPS.
It was the 229th launch of the Long March carrier rocket.
The satellite, after entering its designed work orbit and finishing in-orbit testing, will join others already in orbit and improve the stability of the system, preparing for BDS to offer global coverage.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-06/13/c_135430929.htm
China launches 23rd BeiDou navigation satellite
Source: Xinhua | 2016-06-13 01:18:31 | Editor: huaxia
XICHANG, Sichuan, June 13 (Xinhua) -- China launched a satellite to support its global navigation and positioning network at 11:30 p.m. Sunday.
The satellite, launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, was taken into orbit by a Long March-3C carrier rocket. It is the 23rd satellite in the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), which is being developed as an alternative to U.S. GPS.
It was the 229th launch of the Long March carrier rocket.
The satellite, after entering its designed work orbit and finishing in-orbit testing, will join others already in orbit and improve the stability of the system, preparing for BDS to offer global coverage.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-06/13/c_135430929.htm
JSCh
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China's first high orbit remote sensing satellite put into use
Source: Xinhua 2016-06-13 21:30:15
BEIJING, June 13 (Xinhua) -- China's first high orbit remote sensing satellite, Gaofen-4, went into use after six months of in-orbit testing, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) announced Monday.
Gaofen-4 is China's first geosynchronous orbit high-definition optical imaging satellite and the world's most sophisticated.
Unlike from Gaofen-1 and Gaofen-2 in low orbits around the earth, Gaofen-4 is orbiting at 36,000 kilometers. High orbit satellites have the advantage of being able to snap "grand scenarios." Low orbit satellites, in contrast, can see more detail at faster speed.
Low orbit satellites cannot always follow natural disasters, but Gaofen-4 can continuously observe a disaster because it moves synchronously with the earth. It improves the response to disasters like earthquakes, landslides and typhoons with its high-precision sensors.
Gaofen-4, which was launched in December 2015, has a designed lifespan of eight years, compared to other remote sensing satellites which remain in service for less than three to five years.
During the in-orbit test, Gaofen-4 has been used to collect imageries of flood-hit areas in south China and monitor fires that occurred in southwest China's Sichuan Province and in Russia.
China started the Gaofen project with the launch of Gaofen-1 in April 2013. It aims to launch seven high-definition observation satellites before 2020, designed for disaster prevention, surveillance of geological disasters and forest disasters and weather forecast.
Gaofen-3 is set to be launched in August 2016, according to the SASTIND.
Source: Xinhua 2016-06-13 21:30:15
BEIJING, June 13 (Xinhua) -- China's first high orbit remote sensing satellite, Gaofen-4, went into use after six months of in-orbit testing, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) announced Monday.
Gaofen-4 is China's first geosynchronous orbit high-definition optical imaging satellite and the world's most sophisticated.
Unlike from Gaofen-1 and Gaofen-2 in low orbits around the earth, Gaofen-4 is orbiting at 36,000 kilometers. High orbit satellites have the advantage of being able to snap "grand scenarios." Low orbit satellites, in contrast, can see more detail at faster speed.
Low orbit satellites cannot always follow natural disasters, but Gaofen-4 can continuously observe a disaster because it moves synchronously with the earth. It improves the response to disasters like earthquakes, landslides and typhoons with its high-precision sensors.
Gaofen-4, which was launched in December 2015, has a designed lifespan of eight years, compared to other remote sensing satellites which remain in service for less than three to five years.
During the in-orbit test, Gaofen-4 has been used to collect imageries of flood-hit areas in south China and monitor fires that occurred in southwest China's Sichuan Province and in Russia.
China started the Gaofen project with the launch of Gaofen-1 in April 2013. It aims to launch seven high-definition observation satellites before 2020, designed for disaster prevention, surveillance of geological disasters and forest disasters and weather forecast.
Gaofen-3 is set to be launched in August 2016, according to the SASTIND.
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