China Space Military：Recon, Satcom, Navi, ASAT/BMD, Orbital Vehicle, SLV, etc.

[JSCh]

China launches first satellites for new generation space-borne IoT project
By Deng Xiaoci Source:Global Times Published: 2020/5/12 10:54:00

Developer names one satellite after Wuhan, in honor of sacrifices made during the epidemic

Photo:courtesy of CASIC

China has successfully launched the first two communication satellites for its new space-based Internet-of-Things (IoT) project into designated orbit on Tuesday, with the first one named after its birthplace Wuhan, a city once hit hard by the COVID-19, according to China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), the developer.

The two satellites were launched by the country's Kuaizhou-1A commercial carrier rocket, which was also developed by the Wuhan-based Sanjiang Group under the CASIC, on Tuesday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu Province.

The completion of the Tuesday's mission marks the beginning of China's new generation spaceborne IoT project, codenamed the "Xingyun Engineering" project.

"Xingyun" project is developed by CASIC with a network of 80 low-orbit communication satellites,

The satellites will be used to test applications in multiple fields, such as intelligent container monitoring, polar environmental monitoring, meteorological forecasting as well as marine transport communication, and lay a foundation for the following space-based IoT network.

CASIC told the Global Times on Tuesday in a statement that the construction of an 80-satellite network will be completed by around 2023, and will provide a solution to current "communication blind spots."

IoT services have been strained by poor coverage of ground-based cellular communication networks that are effective by only 20 percent on the ground, and less than 5 percent at sea globally.

The Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket that participated in the launch mission is also developed by CASIC, which is mainly used to launch 300-kilogram level satellites into lower orbits, and the solid propellant rocket model has successfully conducted 8 launch missions.

Conceptual image of the Xingyun-2 satellites and network. Photo: Courtesy of CASIC

Interestingly, the Wuhan-based Sanjiang Group has named the Xingyun-2 01 satellite after Wuhan, in order to promote and celebrate the city's orderly resumption of work and production in the wake of a successful curbing of the epidemic.

The rocket body has been painted with slogans that read "Heroic Wuhan, Great China" and "Tribute to the medical workers," to honor the city, its people and all medical professionals who fought together in solidarity claiming victory in the epidemic battle.

The Global Times reporter also learned from CASIC that the Wuhan-based manufacturing complex for the Kuaizhou rocket series is near completion and in a final acceptance check stage.

The new complex will have an initial capacity of manufacturing 20 solid propellant rockets after becoming operational, CASIC told the Global Times in a statement.

The project was launched in May 2017 and was scheduled to be delivered by the end of February this year. However, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the complex is expected to complete the acceptance check by May and become fully operational before the end of 2020.

 

[enroger]

Now i understand why this new spaceship is so important, the basis for moonlandings depend on it. They definitely have another version for moon landing. It's going the Orion way.

This one is rated for deep space mission. Now all we need is heavy launcher and lander, either the 921 two launch or LM-9 single launch architecture.

 

[onebyone]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1260058132220383232

 

[laser911]

Chinese Space station is currently being assembled. It is going to have 1 core module and 2 laboratory modules.

 

[bahadur999]

China to launch last satellite in the Beidou-3 Navigation Satellite System in June
Source:Global Times Published: 2020/5/15 12:56:33

China launches a new satellite of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, March 9, 2020, only one step away from completing the whole global system. The satellite, the 54th of the BeiDou family, was sent into a geostationary orbit as planned by a Long March-3B carrier rocket. The newly launched satellite is the second geostationary earth orbit satellite of the BDS-3 system, and the last one is expected to be launched in May. (Photo by Guo Wenbin/Xinhua)


China will launch in June the last satellite for Beidou-3 Navigation Satellite System, an array of 30 satellites that will provide services to global users, an official said.

Ran Chengqi, director of the China Satellite Navigation Office said the Beidou-3 Navigation Satellite System will consist of 30 satellites, and 29 satellites are now in orbit. The last satellite is expected to complete the network after its launch in June, according to CCTV.com.

"The satellite and rocket have been moved to the launch site, and we are making all preparations before launch, which is expected to be implemented as planned," he said.

The last satellite of the Beidou-3 satellites is to be launched is a geostationary orbit. Prior to this, China's Beidou-1 and Beidou-2 system provided services to the world.

"After the launch of the last satellite, we will later announce the completion of the global system and provide all Beidou services, such as high-precision services," Ran added.

China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) is one of the four space-based GNSSs in the world, which includes the US' GPS, Russia's GLONASS, and the European Union's Galileo. The BDS system started to provide global service at the end of 2018, as the construction of the BDS-3 primary system had been completed by then.

 

[JSCh]

Largest satellite completes testing
By ZHAO LEI | China Daily | Updated: 2020-05-20 09:18

Shijian 13, China's most advanced communications satellite, is launched at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province on Wednesday.[Photo/VCG]

China's biggest, heaviest and most advanced satellite has completed all of its major technology demonstrations and verifications, a testament to the efficient design of the country's new-generation satellite platform, the DFH 5, according to the China Academy of Space Technology.

Shijian 20, a technology demonstration satellite developed by the Beijing-based academy, is tasked with conducting 84 in-orbit tests and experiments. As of now, all the major tests have been completed with "satisfactory results", the academy said in a statement.

The finished tasks included the first orbital demonstrations for ultra-high-capacity communications, ultra-high-speed laser communications, electric propulsion and other advanced technologies.

The results displayed the reliability and capability of the DFH 5 platform and proved the efficiency of several key space-based technologies and new equipment, the statement said, adding that the satellite will continue to conduct other tests and experiments.

Shijian 20 was lifted by a Long March 5 carrier rocket at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province on Dec 27 and reached its preset position in a geosynchronous orbit about 36,000 kilometers above the Earth in early January.

With a designed life span of 16 years, it is the second satellite based on the DFH 5 after the Shijian 18 was lost during the Long March 5's ill-fated second flight in July 2017.

With a liftoff weight of more than 8 metric tons, the satellite carries more than 10 world-class technological payloads and is equipped with the country's largest, longest and most sophisticated solar arrays.

Li Feng, chief designer of the Shijian 20, said that some of the tests and experiments are cutting-edge and strategically significant, and their results will be useful in the research and development of next-generation space technologies.

Wang Mian, a satellite designer at the academy, explained that the ultra-high-speed laser communications technologies feature superfast data transmission, high security and good anti-electromagnetic interference capability. The in-orbit experiments for the next-generation technologies laid a solid foundation for China to build space-based high-speed communication and internet networks.

The electric propulsion technology also has huge potential in the space industry because it enables spacecraft to save a lot of space used by fuel storage and give that space to mission payloads.

Consequently, the weight of the satellite can be substantially decreased, so a rocket can send two satellites into orbit at the same time, or a launch contractor can use a smaller rocket to carry the satellite, which will greatly reduce launch costs, designers said.

Zhou Zhicheng, chief engineer at the China Academy of Space Technology and project manager of Shijian 20, said that compared with DFH 5's predecessors, the new platform features a larger carrying capacity, higher transmission capability and longer life span and will better serve the needs of high-capacity satellites over the next 20 years.

Hao Yanyan, a supervisor in the Shijian 20 program, said each DFH 5-based satellite is three times stronger than those developed on its most recent predecessor, DFH 4, in regards to operational capacity.

 

[JSCh]

Trial version of China's new-generation spaceship safely returns to Earth
By Deng Xiaoci Source: Published: 2020/5/8 14:12:21

Successful maiden flight verifies world-beating capabilities

Visual conceptual picture of the new manned spaceship Photo: China Academy of Space Technology

The trial version of China's new-generation manned spaceship, which was launched by the Long March-5B in its maiden flight on Tuesday, has successfully made its re-entry to Earth and returned to its designated landing site at 1:49 pm Friday, China's Manned Space Agency announced.

After a flight of two days and 19 hours, re-entry capsule of the new spaceship smoothly returned to the Dongfeng landing site in the desert of North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Friday, under the precise direction of the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center.

The new spaceship, which is designed with the aim of supporting China's future manned landing mission on the moon, took an unprecedented large elliptical orbit with an apogee of 8,000 kilometers and a perigee of about 400 kilometers, according to the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center. During its in-orbit flight, the spaceship adopted a brand-new autonomous orbit control and guided return system.

The maiden flight mission of the new-generation experimental spaceship has verified that major technical indicators have reached a world-beating level, the Global Times learned from the spaceship developer, the China Academy of Space Technology under state-owned space contractor China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) on Friday.

The academy also revealed that the new spaceship is no less than other international advanced space shuttles, and it possesses the capabilities of adapting to different missions, enhanced mobility in orbit, and can perform landings on both ground and water surfaces.

To ensure the safety and stability of the spaceship's flight, the Beijing center has also designed a series of back-up adjustment strategies to manually re-construct an emergency response orbit within seconds in order to protect the spaceship.

The Beijing center, using real-time data transmitted from the spaceship, has drawn up different plans to respond to normal and emergency re-entry situations. The center had been making forecast reports on the precise landing point while directing the measurement and control stations.

An upgrade, not a replacement

According to a statement provided by its developer, the CASC, compared to the older version spaceship Shenzhou, the new spaceship is not only capable of sending and bringing back astronauts to and from the Chinese space station at an orbit of 400 kilometers above the Earth, it can also perform missions including manned landing on the moon, which is 380,000 kilometers away from the Earth, and even probe into deeper space.

The new spaceship can also bring cargo back to the Earth from the space station, meaning it has a "crew plus cargo" capability, unlike the Tianzhou spaceship, according to the CASC.

The new spaceship is not a replacement for the old one, but the two are meant to complement each other, offering more options for China's manned space projects and meeting requirements for different space missions.

According to the CASC, the new spaceship is reusable, which can reduce costs and solve the issue of how to make space entry more secure, comfortable, smart and economical, which will significantly enhance the country's manned space entry and return transport capability.

The new spaceship is 9 meters in height, weighs 20 tons, and will be able to send six to seven astronauts into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at one go in the future, the CASC statement said.

The new spaceship is composed of two capsules - a re-entry capsule, which is the command center of the spaceship and also the living space for astronauts, and a service capsule, which is in charge of power supply.

The living space for astronauts in the new vessel is more spacious than on the Shenzhou spaceship, and the re-entry capsule can be separated for different functions according to mission requirements, such as a working zone, an entertainment zone with large interactive screen, and even a dining area, which will make the space journey for astronauts more comfortable.

In-orbit manufacturing

Space science experiments, including space 3D printing, were conducted in the experimental spacecraft during its flight.

According to the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization, Chinese Academy of Sciences, which designed the experiment, these 3D printing experiment aims to study the possibility of "self-sufficiency" by building parts for the spacecraft in order to address the problem of "long supply lines" during space exploration missions.

The CAS research team told the Global Times in a statement that the 3D print experiment they conducted on board the new spaceship was the first time in the world such technology was adopted to conduct in-orbit manufacturing of metal/ceramic composite materials with a nanometer level precision.

National broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Thursday that the experiment was successfully conducted in a microgravity environment.

During the flight, the experiment to establish a super-speed local area network equivalent to 1,000 Mbit/s, across all systems on board the spaceship, was successfully conducted, which marked a national first.

During the experiment, multiple functions including clock synchronization, multi-source data sampling and high-definition image transmission were verified.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1266276644181819398

Global Times✔@globaltimesnews

China on Saturday opened the re-entry capsule of a trial version of the country's new-generation manned #spaceship during a ceremony held in Beijing. A Pakistani flag onboard was handed to the country's ambassador to China, who was present at the ceremony. https://bit.ly/35FArMh


https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=1266276644181819398
3:54 PM - May 29, 2020

 

[Han Patriot]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1266276644181819398

Global Times✔@globaltimesnews

China on Saturday opened the re-entry capsule of a trial version of the country's new-generation manned #spaceship during a ceremony held in Beijing. A Pakistani flag onboard was handed to the country's ambassador to China, who was present at the ceremony. https://bit.ly/35FArMh


3:54 PM - May 29, 2020

China really take Pakistan as an iron brother. The only country allowed to use beidou military signal and now a flag which flew with our most advanced space craft

 

[JSCh]

China launches two new technology experiment satellites
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-30 05:08:49|Editor: huaxia

XICHANG, May 30 (Xinhua) -- China sent two satellites into planned orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province Saturday.

The two new technology experiment satellites, launched by a Long March-11 carrier rocket at 4:13 a.m. (Beijing Time), will be mainly used for the new Earth-observation technology experiment.

Saturday's launch was the 332nd mission of the Long March rocket series.

​

 

[JSCh]

Breaking !!

央视新闻
4分钟前 来自 微博 weibo.com 已编辑
【转起祝贺！#高分九号02星和德四号卫星成功发射#

】今天16时53分，我国在酒泉卫星发射中心用长征二号丁运载火箭，成功将高分九号02星、和德四号卫星送入预定轨道，发射获得圆满成功。转起！#为中国航天点赞#！

（总台央视记者刘芃利）

CCTV News
4 minutes ago from Weibo
[Congratulations! # 高分 九号 02 星 和 德 四 Satellite successfully launched # [威武]】 At 16:53 today, China successfully used the Long March 2D carrier rocket at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to successfully launched the GF-9-02 and Hede-4 satellite into planned orbit, and the launch was a complete success. Turn up! # 为 中国 航 点点 赞 #! [Like] (Liu Pengli, CCTV reporter at HQ)

​

Update 1: News report from Global Times.

China sends new Earth observation and IoT satellites into space
Source: Published: 2020/5/31 17:15:22

China successfully launched a high-resolution new Earth observation satellite, the Gaofen-9 02, as well as a narrowband Internet of Things (IoT) satellite named Hede-4 into planned orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu Province on Sunday around 4:53 pm.

The launch mission was carried out by a Long March-2D rocket, which marked the 333rd flight of the Long March carrier rocket family.

The Gaofen-9 02 is an optical remote sensing satellite that is capable of providing photographs with a resolution of less than a meter. It will be used in land survey, urban planning, road network design, agriculture, and disaster relief, and support the construction of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

The Hede-4 satellite is developed by the China Head Aerospace Technology Co from Beijing and is tasked with carrying out status collection of global ship naviga-tion and global flights as well as IoT information.

 

[JSCh]

16:01, 01-Jun-2020
Expert explains China's first Mars mission between July and August
By Guo Meiping, Gao Yun

China plans to launch its first Mars exploration mission Tianwen-1 between July and August, Bao Weimin, academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the Science and Technology Commission at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, has told CCTV while sharing details about the mission.

According to the plan, the Mars probe will release a rover after a soft landing on the planet and the rover will stay on Mars for 90 Mars sols, or days, on a variety of missions, including reconnaissance and exploration of the Martian landscape.

"A day on Mars is about 24 hours and 37 minutes, the designed life of the rover is 90 Mars sols, more than three months on Earth," Bao explained in the interview.

Due to the long distance, the exploration of the red planet requires precisely timing its proximity to Earth, which occurs only once every 26 months.

"The Mars probe with be within the gravitational field and potential of Mars next February, and will reach its destination after capture by the planet," Bao said.

At its closest, Mars is about 55 million kilometers away from Earth. Ensuring the probe is captured successfully by Mars is the key to the mission.

"The probe will pass by the Mars if the capture failed," Bao told CCTV, adding that the probe will enter the orbit of Mars once captured, and could then detect the planet after several modulations.

According to the academician, the landing process is about seven to eight minutes, and the speed of the probe needs to reduce from 4.8 kilometers per second to 0 kilometer per second.

11 missions in the next 2 to 3 years

Following the maiden flight of the country's Long March-5B carrier rocket on May 5, China plans to conduct another 11 launch missions starting from next year to complete the construction of China's "Tiangong" space station around 2022.

"We're going to conduct three launches for the station's core module along with two experimental modules, four launches for manned spacecraft, and four for cargo spacecraft," said Bao.

So far, China has completed the assembly of the prototype of "Tianhe," the space station's core module. The two experiment capsules dubbed "Wentian" and "Mengtian," as well as scientific payloads, are under development.

The service life of the space station is expected to be about 10 to 15 years.

 

[JSCh]

21:29, 09-Mar-2020
China launches penultimate BeiDou-3 navigation system satellite
Updated 23:02, 09-Mar-2020
By Wu Lei, Cao Qingqing

China successfully sent the penultimate satellite for its third-generation BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS-3) into space on Monday, paving the way for its completion and full global coverage in May.

The satellite, which is the 54th of the BDS, blasted off on a Long March 3B rocket at 7:55 p.m. BJT from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China.

The launch team on site. /Courtesy of China Academy of Space Technology

It's the second geostationary satellite of BDS-3, and is the one with the largest size, the longest designed service life and the most functions, meaning it has broad prospects for application according to its developer, the China Academy of Space Technology.

It features major functions such as radio navigation, radio determination, satellite-based augmentation, precise point positioning, power enhancement and time synchronization and positioning between stations. These functions will be largely applied to fields including communication, power, finance, surveying and mapping, transportation, fishery, agriculture, and forestry.

The last geostationary satellite of BDS-3 will be launched in May, by which time the whole system will be completed, according to the China Satellite Navigation Office (CSNO).

The BDS-3 system will eventually consist of a total of 30 satellites, including 24 medium earth-orbit satellites, three geostationary earth-orbit satellites and three inclined geosynchronous earth-orbit satellites.

Space engineers overcame difficulties during the novel coronavirus epidemic to ensure the success of the mission.

The launch team on site. /Courtesy of China Academy of Space Technology

BDS' development over the past 20 years

As China's self-developed space-based navigation system, the BDS is one of the four global navigation networks along with the United States' GPS, Russia's GLONASS and the European Union's Galileo.

Since 2000, when the first BeiDou satellite entered orbit, China has launched 58 satellites－including four experimental ones. Its development has been through three phases - from the first generation, or BDS-1, to the current BDS-3.

The BDS-1 offered limited coverage and navigation services since 2000 mainly for users in China and neighboring regions, and was decommissioned at the end of 2012.

The BDS-2 began providing positioning, navigation, timing and messaging services to civilian users in China and other parts of the Asia-Pacific region in December 2012.

The BDS-3 has been designed for global coverage constellation. The first BDS-3 satellite was launched in March 2015. At the end of 2018, it started to provide global services.

More than six million cars, taxis, buses and trucks equipped with BeiDou terminals receive information about recommended routes sent by the Ministry of Transport on a daily basis. They can also check the routes already traveled over the past two weeks.

The system has also been playing a helpful role in the fight against the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak in China, the CSNO noted.

54th BeiDou satellite starts operation in network
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-03 12:56:49|Editor: huaxia

BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The 54th and penultimate satellite of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) has started operation in the network after completing in-orbit tests and network access evaluations, according to a statement from China's Satellite Navigation System Management Office.

The satellite, launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on March 9, is a geostationary earth orbit satellite of the BDS-3 system. It was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology.

The satellite will offer users positioning, navigation and timing services, and will help improve the robustness of the system, the office said.

China's Xi'an Satellite Control Center, based in northwestern Shaanxi Province, provides maintenance support for the in-orbit satellite, sources with the center said.

The BDS is China's independently developed and operated global navigation system. It will be fully completed in June with the launch of its final satellite, the 55th of the BeiDou family.

Both the satellite and carrier rocket have been sent to the launch site, and preparations for the upcoming launch are underway.

 

[Daniel808]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1267418222900531201

A busy month

 

[JSCh]

Efficient remote sensing algorithm proposed for landslide monitoring
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-03 16:34:00|Editor: huaxia

BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese researchers have designed an improved remote sensing method for more efficient landslide monitoring.

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing is a potential technique for long-term monitoring of landslide-prone areas.

Traditional pixel offset tracking methods work well for fast-moving landslides but still have some limitations.

The researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences proposed the improved offset tracking method to optimize a more efficient workflow, as well as an improved algorithm based on homogeneous samples.

The researchers applied the proposed method to study the evolution of the landslide that happened in 2018 in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, using SAR data from the Gaofen-3 satellite and the Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 (ALOS-2).

Compared with the traditional method, the proposed method showed higher efficiency and certainty, said their research article recently published in the journal Remote Sensing of Environment.

In the study, the researchers demonstrated that the SAR remote sensing plays an important role in global landslide monitoring, especially when ground live data are insufficient.

 

[JSCh]

China plans to develop new solid-fueled carrier rocket
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-05 17:34:01|Editor: huaxia

BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese engineers plan to develop a new solid-fueled rocket with greater carrying capacity than the current model Long March-11 rocket, revealed China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation sources.

The upgraded carrier rocket, called the Long March-11A, will be designed for both land and sea launches, and its cost is calculated at 10,000 U.S. dollars per kg of payload.

According to the corporation, the design work is slated to complete this year, and the rocket is scheduled to embark on its maiden flight in 2022.

The Long March-11, mainly used for launching micro-satellites, is currently the only solid-fueled model Long March carrier rocket and China's first sea-launched rocket. It has a capacity of 500 kg for sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 km.

Its latest launch mission was completed last Saturday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan Province, which sent two technology experiment satellites into the space.