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

[LetsGetRowdy]

Next Shenzhou flight will be manned says China

Having had a very successful unmanned Shenzhou 8 automatic docking test with the Tiangong-1 mini-space station, China has elected to move up its next manned spaceflight to the Shenzhou 9 flight. Originally it was suggested that this mission would be a second unmanned flight. The flight is now planned to take place between June and August this year. The three Chinese astronaut “Taikonaut” crew will make a docking, this time under manual control, and the crew will enter the station to make a short stay before returning to Earth. It has been suggested that China may fly a female Taikonaut on this flight.

Next Shenzhou flight will be manned says China

 

[Sasquatch]

Should have posted the 11th launch here.

 

[HongWu]

Next Shenzhou flight will be manned says China

Having had a very successful unmanned Shenzhou 8 automatic docking test with the Tiangong-1 mini-space station, China has elected to move up its next manned spaceflight to the Shenzhou 9 flight. Originally it was suggested that this mission would be a second unmanned flight. The flight is now planned to take place between June and August this year. The three Chinese astronaut “Taikonaut” crew will make a docking, this time under manual control, and the crew will enter the station to make a short stay before returning to Earth. It has been suggested that China may fly a female Taikonaut on this flight.

Next Shenzhou flight will be manned says China

Wow, we already have manned space station missions now.

 

[Greater China]

China is ready for its Manned Space Docking in 2012

2012-03-01 (China Military News cited from Xinhua) -- A leading Chinese space engineer said in Beijing Thursday that China's first unmanned space module, the Tiangong-1, is now capable of accommodating astronauts, making it possible for China to carry out its first manned space docking mission ahead of schedule.

Qi Faren, the former chief designer of the Shenzhou spaceships series, spoke with Xinhua on China's space missions ahead of the annual session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body, which is slated to open Saturday.

China will launch its manned Shenzhou-9 spacecraft between June and August this year, and conduct a space rendezvous and docking mission with the orbiting Tiangong-1 space lab module, said Qi, who is a member of the CPPCC National Committee.

Qi's remarks mark major progress in China's space industry, as Chinese space engineers and scientists had previously planned to let the Shenzhou-10 spacecraft complete its first manned space docking mission after one more unmanned docking by Shenzhou-9.

"The unmanned docking between the Shenzhou-8 and the Tiangong-1 was much better than what we had anticipated," Qi said. "Therefore, we decided to put forward the manned docking mission with the Shenzhou-9 ahead of schedule."

Qi said tests and observations showed that the environment and food reserves inside the Tiangong-I space lab module are able to sustain one astronaut living and working there for 60 days, or two astronauts for 30 days.

He said authorities have picked three astronauts for the manned docking, a mission that the astronauts will have to manually conduct, and they have already completed their training.

According to Qi, one of the three Shenzhou-9 crew members will not board the Tiangong-1 space module lab, but will remain inside the spacecraft as a precautionary measure in case of emergency.

Previous reports said all three crew members would board the space module lab.

Orbiting about 400 km above the Earth's surface, the 8.5-tonne Tiangong-1, or Heavenly Palace-1, is in good condition, Qi said.

China launched the Tiangong-1 in September last year and completed the country's first-ever space docking with the unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft in November.

China Military News


China takes next step toward manned space station - People's Daily Online

If the Long March 2F carrier rocket successfully launches and sends the Tiangong-1 space station to outer space, China will take a huge step toward the era of a manned space station.

At the end of July 2011, China's aviation rally trumpet was sounded again in the hot summer at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center of Gansu Province. On July 23, the Long March 2F carrier rocket was transported to the center successfully to meet the Tiangong-1, which had arrived there earlier, and all the technicians participating in this mission also arrived.

In the heat of August, all the Chinese people of the world and all the people from all other countries set their eyes on China, hoping to witness the new milestone of China's manned space flights.

Trying to perfect rendezvous, docking

Zhang Jianqi, former vice director of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and former vice general director of China's manned space flight engineering, said that China's manned space flight engineering was divided into three steps. The first step was to send astronauts into space.

The second step was to realize multi-person and multi-day spaceflights. In this step, the astronauts would exit the space shuttle and complete the rendezvous and docking between the shuttle and capsule. A space laboratory, which will be looked after by astronauts would also be launched. The third step is to establish a permanent space station.

This particular launch is aimed at completing the subsequent tasks of the second step and laying the foundation for the third. Zhang also said that the Tiangong 1, which is about to be launched soon, is the embryonic form of China's first space station laboratory. It weights eight tons and its designed life is two years.

Successfully completing the "rendezvous and docking" will be the key to achieving a strategic goal, but it is a universally acknowledged bottleneck of aviation technologies. The former general designer of the Shenzhou space shuttle Qi Faren said that many technological innovations made for the Shenzhou series, starting from the Shenzhou 8, and Shenzhou space shuttles, have become a brand-new kind of spacecraft for traveling between Earth and outer space. The most important feature of the shuttle's function for the rendezvous and docking is that the astronaut can operate it with a visual screen so they can closely follow a target spacecraft.

Making perfect preparations for launch

Reporters learned that the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center has carried out a comprehensive overhaul and quality review for the equipment on the manned space flight launch site and completed as many as 66 improvements and innovations for the testing, launch, command and monitoring systems.

The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology developed the Long March 2 carrier rocket for this mission. In order to meet the requirements of the rendezvous and docking, related experts have made about 170 technological improvements on the rocket. After the rocket arrived at the center, technicians also carried out the strictest and most careful examination work on every functional part of the rocket.

"China being in space I think is a great thing. The more nations that get into space, the better cooperation we will have with each," American astronaut Rex Walheim, who flew the final mission of the Atlantis space shuttle, said during an in-flight interview. "Space is one of the biggest international brotherhoods we have." In this globalization era, all countries should work together to explore the vast, boundless universe.

Zhang said that China will have its own space station in 2020. "China's space station will be an open platform. The Chinese people will be more than happy to conduct scientific experiments with foreign scientists and astronauts," he added.

People's Daily Online

 

[Greater China]

China aims to launch 100 satellites by 2015

2012-03-11 (China Military News cited from Xinhua) -- China has set a target of completing a space mission of "100 rockets, 100 satellites" during the five years between 2011 and 2015, a senior space executive said Saturday.

On average, China will complete about 20 launch missions each year before 2015, said Zhang Jianheng, deputy general manager of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC).

"The densely arranged launch missions and flight tests have posed an unprecedented challenge to the country's space program," Zhang, a deputy to the country's top legislature, the National People's Congress, told Xinhua on the sidelines of the ongoing parliamentary session that started on Monday.

According to Zhang, China launched 19 satellites, a target orbiter Tiangong-1 and Shenzhou-8 spacecraft with 19 Long March rockets last year, a record high for China's space program in launch numbers.

China has surpassed the United States, which completed 18 launches in 2011, to become the world's No. 2 in terms of launch numbers following Russia's 36 launches, Zhang said.

In 2012, China has planned 30 satellite launches with 21 rockets, including the launch of Shenzhou-9 spacecraft, which is scheduled to carry out China's first manned space rendezvous and docking with Tiangong-1 between June and August.

Zhang said CASC raked in 100 billion yuan ($15.87 billion) in operating income in 2011, bringing the company's total assets to more than 200 billion yuan.

He said the company will keep a growth rate of about 20 percent annually and its operating income is expected to hit 250 billion yuan by the year 2015.

China Military News

 

[Sasquatch]

China's second moon orbiter, the Chang'e-2, has performed outstandingly, a Chinese lawmaker close to the lunar exploration project said Tuesday.

Chang'e-2 has more than achieved the goals set for it, said Hu Hao, deputy commander-in-chief of the lunar exploration center under the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry of National Defense and a deputy to the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature.

China last month published a high-resolution full-coverage map of the moon captured by the Chang'e-2, which is "the highest-resolution photo of the entirety of the moon's surface to be published so far in the world," according to Hu.

"China's lunar exploration is providing research materials for global scientists, which has demonstrated that our utilization of the moon is for peaceful purposes," he said.

Chang'e-2, named after a Chinese mythological moon goddess, was launched on Oct. 1, 2010.

"The excellent performance of Chang'e-2 has laid a solid foundation for the future landing of its successor, Chang'e-3, next year," noted Hu.

China's third lunar probe, Chang'e-3, is expected to be launched in 2013 and conduct a moon landing and lunar explorations. Its launch is part of the second step of China's three-phrase lunar probe project of orbiting, landing and returning.

Chang'e-2 will continue tests on the space environment and engineering technology experiments at the second Lagrange Point.

 

[Martian2]

China's ZY-1-02C satellite has 2.36 meter resolution

As military enthusiasts, what we really want to know is the resolution of China's spy satellites. Since that information is classified, we have to look at China's civilian imaging satellites to determine the baseline for estimating China's military satellite capability.

It's common sense that spy satellites have superior capability in comparison to civilian satellites. By analogy, military GPS has vastly superior accuracy in comparison to civilian GPS.

Anyway, you should click on the newslink and watch the short video on China's ZY-1-02C satellite. For your convenience, I have screen-captured some of the images from China's satellite.

NEWSCONTENT

China's civilian ZY-1-02C satellite has 2.36 meter resolution. The ZY-1-03C satellite has 2.1 meter resolution. China will launch three more satellites with 1 meter resolution.

I think this is a picture of the Beijing International Airport. Clearly, China's ZY-1-02C satellite can easily distinguish between different types of aircraft.

The ZY-1-02C satellite resolution is sufficient to allow an observer to read the Chinese characters on a warehouse. The first character means "large." I don't remember the other characters anymore.

I think this is a picture from space of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Each building can be clearly seen. For military use, a Chinese spy satellite will be able to provide real-time surveillance for an airstrike.

"High resolution imagery released from China's ZY-1-02C, ZY-1-03C satellites
Beijing, China - Feb 29, 2012

The latest high-resolution images delivered by China's high-resolution remote sensing satellites ZY-1-02C and ZY-1-03C were released by China's Center for Resources Satellite Data and Application Wednesday.

The ZY-1-02C, launched on Dec 22 of last year, has become the first customized land resources satellite for Chinese clients, the center said.

Yu Wenyong, head of the China's Center for Resources Satellite Data and Application, said, “Engines of large aircraft at Beijing's Capital International Airport can be clearly seen from the images delivered from remote sensing satellite ZY-1-02C, as well as vehicles and trees on the road, and the texture of the Bird's Nest and Water Cube, and even steel beams of the Bird's Nest are clearly seen.”

“The highest resolution of remote sensing satellite ZY-1-02C is 2.36 meters,” he added.

With two high-resolution color cameras and one multi-spectral camera, the ZY-1-02C will provide clients with images for disaster relief services, agriculture development, environmental monitoring and other applications.

China's first high-resolution remote sensing satellite ZY-1-02C has carried out orbital tests, and images delivered from it reach international standards, China's Center for Resources Satellite Data and Application said Wednesday.

“As for the ZY-1-03C, the highest resolution is 2.1 meters. The resolution of our current satellites has reached the level of the same kind in France, Japan and India,” said Yu Wenyong.

According to Yu, the test of ZY-1-02C and ZY-1-03C has entered the final stage, and they are about to be used. China will launch three more land resources satellites, and the pixelation will reach 1 meter, which will offer important technical support to China’s land resources and stereo mapping figures."

----------

Showdown between Chinese and American commercial satellite resolutions!

1. Chinese ZY-1-02C resolution is 2.36 meters.
2. Chinese ZY-1-03C resolution is 2.1 meters.
3. Upcoming three Chinese satellite resolution is 1 meter.

4. American GeoEye-1 (built by General Dynamics and launched in 2008) has a resolution of 16 inches (41 centimeters or 0.41 meter).
5. American GeoEye-2 is scheduled for launch in 2013. Its resolution is 25 cm (or 0.25 meter)

In conclusion, the best Chinese satellite currently has a 2.1 meter resolution. In contrast, the best American civilian satellite currently has a 0.41 meter resolution. America's GeoEye-1 has 5 times better resolution than China's ZY-1-03C (e.g. 0.41m x 5 = 2.1 meters).

In the near future, China will launch three satellites with 1 meter resolution. In contrast, America's GeoEye-2 will launch next year with 0.25m resolution. The American GeoEye-2 will have 4 times better resolution than China's best satellites (e.g. 0.25m x 4 = 1 meter).

The trend is that China is closing the gap. American imaging satellites are currently 5 times better than Chinese satellites. However, the American lead will shrink down to 4 times better in the near future.

World’s Highest-Res, Color Satellite Image Showcases New Spacecraft’s Quality – News Watch

"World’s Highest-Res, Color Satellite Image Showcases New Spacecraft’s Quality
Posted by David Braun of National Geographic on October 9, 2008

Image courtesy GeoEye, Inc

Commercial satellite imagery of the Earth will be a lot sharper thanks to GeoEye-1, a spacecraft that can make images of objects on the ground as small as 16 inches (41 centimeters) — from more than 400 miles (640 kilometers) away.

The satellite has been undergoing calibration and check-out since it was launched last month. This week, while moving north to south in a 423-mile-high (681-kilometer) orbit over the eastern seaboard of the U.S. at a speed of 17,000 miles per hour (27,000 kilometers per hour), GeoEye started working.

The image (above) “captures what is in fact the very first location the satellite saw when we opened the camera door and started imaging,” said Brad Peterson, GeoEye’s vice president of operations. “We expect the quality of the imagery to be even better as we continue the calibration activity.”

The image shows Kutztown University, Pennsylvania. It was produced by fusing the satellite’s panchromatic (black-and-white) and multispectral (color) data to produce a high-quality, true-color 20-inch (50-centimeter) resolution image.

The satellite’s highest resolution imagery (16-inch) will not be available commercially. Those images are reserved for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which paid a major share of the cost of the satellite.

Google is the second largest shareholder in the venture, so it gets exclusive online mapping use of the 20-inch-resolution imagery, which it plans to use to improve the quality of Google Maps and Google Earth.

Images for other commercial purposes (at the lower 20-inch res, naturally) can be purchased directly from GeoEye, Inc.

A second satellite, GeoEye-2, slated to launch in 2011 or 2012, will have a resolution of 10 inches (25 centimeters), Wired reports on its Web site. However, Wired continues, Google’s satellite imagery will not likely get more detailed because of the U.S.-government regulation that restricts commercial imagery to a resolution no higher than 50 centimeters.

The very finest detail of imagery available from space is reserved for the spy agencies."

----------

GeoEye-2 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"GeoEye-2 is a planned third generation commercial Earth observation satellite, due to launch in early 2013. The satellite will have a resolution of 25 cm, making it the highest resolution commercial Earth observation satellite in orbit, once it has been launched. However, restrictive licensing by the US government makes it likely that only the US government and some of its allies will have access to imagery at the full design resolution - all other users will have to make do with imagery at the highest resolution that the US government licenses for other users - 20 inches (50.8 cm). The imaging sensor will be manufactured by ITT Exelis, and the satellite owned by GeoEye.

When it goes up, GeoEye-2 will join two other satellites, GeoEye-1 and IKONOS, which are already in orbit. Assuming that both these satellite continue to operate, this will give GeoEye three sub-metre satellites in orbit, and the ability to offer its customers daily revisits. This will potentially open up a whole new raft of applications for the company. RapidEye already provides this capability on a commercial basis, but its satellites only offer 5 metre resolution.

Primary mirror diameter: 1.1 m[1]

Lockheed Martin, the builder of IKONOS, has been selected as the builder of the satellite platform over General Dynamics the builder of GeoEye-1. General Dynamics lost money on the fixed contract for GeoEye-1 and could not come to terms with GeoEye.[2]"

[Note: I should mention that resolution and picture quality are two different standards. A picture is two dimensional and it has both length and width. We know that a GeoEye-1 pixel is 1/5th the length of a ZY-1-03C pixel. However, a GeoEye-1 picture will be 25 times sharper than a ZY-1-03C picture.

This is easy to understand. For the same picture size, we can fit 5 times more GeoEye-1 pixels horizontally. Also, we can fit 5 times more GeoEye-1 pixels vertically in comparison to a ZY-1-03C picture. Hence, a GeoEye-1 picture will have 25 times more pixels/detail than a ZY-1-03C picture.]

 

[SinoChallenger]

^ Real specs are secret. Those are lower boundary estimates only.

 

[Sasquatch]

China successfully sends a French-made communication satellite "APSTAR-VII" into orbit with its Long March-3B carrier rocket from southwest Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

 

[tatasteel]

China on Monday said it had successfully launched two navigation satellites, the twelfth and thirteenth additions to its fast-expanding home-grown navigation and positioning satellite network that will soon end Chinese dependence on the United States-run Global Positioning System (GPS).

The two satellites were launched at 4.50 am on Monday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southwest Sichuan province, carried on a Long March-3B rocket. This marked the first instance of two navigation satellites being launched using one rocket, the State-run Xinhua news agency said.

China has in recent months accelerated its plans to expand its indigenous Beidou or Compass global positioning network, which will be completed to provide global coverage by 2020 with more than thirty satellites in orbit. The Beidou network will make China only the third country in the world – after the U.S. and Russia – to have its own independent, indigenous navigation system, Xinhua said.

The Chinese government said in a recent white paper Beidou was “designed to break China’s dependence on the US Global Positioning System”, and will serve both civilian and defence requirements.

China’s fast developing home-grown space programme reached another milestone last year, with the launch of Tiangong-1, the country’s first space laboratory module – a key step in China’s plans to put into orbit its own space station by 2020. China will become only the third country after the U.S and Russia to do so, although trailing both those countries by several decades in achieving this feat.

China’s investment of billions of yuan into its satellite and space programme comes at a time when the U.S. and the West are cutting spending on space missions, a fact highlighted by the official media last year which saw the launch of Tiangong-1 as “the latest showcase of the nation’s growing prowess in space... while budget restraints and economic tailspin have held back the once dominant U.S. space missions.”

China’s space programme has also begun to acquire increasing international influence, having launched more than 20 satellites for a number of developing countries, ranging from Bolivia and Nigeria to Pakistan. Last year, China launched Pakistan’s first communications satellite, PAKSAT-1R, from Sichuan.

Chinese officials hope their investments will pay rich commercial dividends when they offer their navigation satellite services to other countries.

The Beidou network will this year begin providing services for countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including real-time weather monitoring and navigation services. Ran Chengqi, director of the China

Satellite Navigation Management Office, told an industry conference last year that he expected the development of Beidou and related industries to create a 400 billion yuan ($ 63.5 billion) market by 2020.

Last week, Chinese media reports keenly followed the launch of India’s first indigenous radar imaging satellite, RISAT-1. The launch was discussed on news shows broadcast on State media outlets, while the satellite was dubbed by the State-run Xinhua news agency as “a spy satellite”.

Chinese officials have, however, sought to downplay concerns voiced by China's neighbours and Western countries about the strategic dimensions of its growing investments in space technology. Following the launch of Tiangong-1, State media commentaries rejected concerns of “a new wave of space race”, saying China was “neither the first country to seek explorations in outer space, nor the country with the most advanced technology, [so] it seems incomprehensible that China should cause concern to others.”

The Hindu : News / International : China's GPS a step closer with launch of two satellites

 

[tomluter]

Two Campass MEO orbit navigation satellites had been launched today.

This was the first time to launch two MEO orbit (20,000Km) sats at the same time.

pic,the new long fairing

the twins sats

 

[shuttler]

China’s space programme has also begun to acquire increasing international influence, having launched more than 20 satellites for a number of developing countries, ranging from Bolivia and Nigeria to Pakistan. Last year, China launched Pakistan’s first communications satellite, PAKSAT-1R, from Sichuan.
The Hindu : News / International : China's GPS a step closer with launch of two satellites

That is a gross understatement by indian bullshit media.
China's client base include developed and developing countries:

AsiaSat (HK)
Marubeni (Japan)
APT Satellite Holdings Ltd. HK
National Institute for Space Research (Brazil)
EchoStar USA
NigComSat Ltd. Nigeria
Eutelsat France
Optus Australia
Intelsat Luxemburg
PT Indosat Tbk Indonesia
Iridium USA
Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO)
Mabuhay Philippines
Venezuela Ministry of Science and Technology

 

[applesauce]

^^ well strictly speaking the article is not lying, china has launch a bunch for developing countries

 

[shuttler]

^^ well strictly speaking the article is not lying, china has launch a bunch for developing countries

"understatement" !

 

[Martian2]

China launches new mapping satellite - China.org.cn

"China launches new mapping satellite
Xinhua, May 6, 2012

China successfully launched its Tianhui I-02 mapping satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu province at 3:10 p.m. Sunday.


The Long March 2-D rocket carrying Tianhui I-02 mapping satellite blasts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Gansu Province, on May 6, 2012. [Xinhua]

The satellite, which was launched using a Long March 2-D carrier rocket, has entered its preset orbit. Another similar satellite, the Tianhui I, was launched into space in August 2010.

The satellite, developed and produced by a company under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), will mainly be used to conduct scientific experiments, carry out land resource surveys and map territory, according to a statement released after the launch.

Remote sensing information and test results from the satellite will boost both the country's scientific research and economic development, said the statement.

The mission marked the 161st launch for the Long March rocket family since April 24, 1970, when a Long March-1 rocket successfully sent the country's first satellite, the Dongfanghong-1, into space."