China spacecraft returns to Earth after docking test

[beijingwalker]

China launches remote-sensing satellite Yaogan XIII
English.news.cn 2011-11-30 11:28:27

TAIYUAN, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- China successfully launched the remote-sensing satellite Yaogan XIII Wednesday from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the northern province of Shanxi, according to a press release from the center.

The satellite was carried into space aboard a Long March 2C carrier rocket at 2:50 a.m. Beijing time, according to the center.

The satellite will be used to conduct scientific experiments, carry out surveys on land resources, monitor crop yields and help with natural disaster-reduction and prevention.

The Long March 2C carrier rocket was produced by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The Wednesday flight is the 152th mission of Long-March-series carrier rockets.

 

[beijingwalker]

China Launches 10th Satellite for Independent Navigation System
2011-12-02 07:17:10

The Long March-3A carrier rocket carrying China's 10th Beidou satellite blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on Friday morning, December 2, 2011.

China successfully launched a satellite into space at 5:07 a.m. Beijing Time Friday, the 10th one of its indigenous global navigation and positioning network known as Beidou, or Compass system, the launch center said.

The satellite, launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern Sichuan Province, was boosted by a Long March-3A carrier rocket into a geosynchronous orbit.

It was also the 153rd launch of the Long March carrier rockets.

The basic structure of the Beidou system has now been established, and engineers are now conducting comprehensive system test and evaluation. The system will provide test-run services of positioning, navigation and time for China and the neighboring areas before the end of this year, according to the authorities.

More satellites will be launched before the end of 2012 for the Beidou network, and its coverage area will be expanded with upgraded services.

The global satellite positioning and navigation system will be completed in 2020 with 30 satellites orbiting the earth.

Started in 2000, the Beidou satellite navigation system is designed to break China's dependence on the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS).

 

[beijingwalker]

China To Help Turkmenistan Launch First Communications Satellite
Bernama - ‎25 minutes ago‎

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, Dec 7 (Bernama) -- China Great Wall Industry Corporation signed a contract with the French Thales Alenia Space, under which China will help Turkmenistan to launch the country's first communications satellite。

 

[Lyrical Mockery]

Congrats China.

You got good people in your space research department, really good and talented people

 

[beijingwalker]

China launches high-resolution remote-sensing satellite
English.news.cn 2011-12-22 17:17:02
TAIYUAN, Dec. 22 (Xinhua)
-- China successfully launched Ziyuan I-02C Thursday, a high-resolution remote-sensing satellite, from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi province.

Launched at 11:26 a.m aboard a Long March 4B rocket, the satellite reached an orbit of 770 km above Earth about 13 minutes later, according to the launch center.

Developed and produced by the China Academy of Space Technology, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), it is the country's first such orbiter that can acquire high-resolution data through remote-sensing, marking a key technological leap forward.

According to the center, the satellite can conduct land resources surveys, reduce natural disasters, aid agriculture development and manage water resources.

The Long March 4B rocket is developed by Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, another CASC subsidiary. Thursday's mission marked the 155th flight of China's Long March series of carrier rockets.