CNSA news, Updates and Discussions

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Landspace currently has two manufacturing bases, one is in Huzhou city for rocket engines. the other one is Jiaxing city for rocket manufacturing. both are eastern China small cities. the new base launched today is in Jiaxing city.

 

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Volcanics Ventures Leads $14M Series Pre-A Round In Chinese Commercial Rocket Producer

December 26, 2019 — 11:43

Chinese commercial rocket producer Space Transportation has raised nearly RMB100 million (US$14.29 million) in a series pre-A round of financing led by Chinese venture capital firm Volcanics Ventures.

Space Transportation was founded in August 2018 to specialize in reducing the high launch costs in the commercial aerospace industry. The company said in the official website that it seeks to provide customers with "high-reliability, low-cost, and convenient space transportation services."

Source Code Capital, Keli Venture Capital, Oriza Yuandian Venture Capital and Zhencheng Capital also participated in this round.

The company is developing a series of reusable rocket products named "Tianxing". Tianxing I, the first product from the batch, conducted a high-speed flight capability in this April. The product will be used in areas like high-speed engine tests, material tests, and guidance and control tests.

Proceeds of this round will be used for the development of the "Tianxing" series rockets, as well as the principle tests and technical verification for more advanced rockets.


https://www.chinamoneynetwork.com/2...a-round-in-chinese-commercial-rocket-producer

 

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the 50 ton thrust (sea level) YF-77 cryogenic engine being test

the previous flaws on the turbopump of the YF-77 cryogenic engine were eventually fixed after at least twice of redesigns.

A full size mock up of YF-77

CNSA is currently developing 220 ton thrust YF-220 cryogenic engine and 480 ton YF-480 Kerolox engine used for the future Long March 9.

 

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[50 hits! 】In 2020, China Aerospace will open a super mode! According to reporters, China's space industry is expected to carry out as many as 50 space launches this year, equivalent to the total number of space launches in the 1980s and 1990s. This year, many new generation launch vehicles, such as long march 5b, long march 7a and Long March 8, will take their first flight one after another. The world-class space missions, such as Mars exploration and Chang'e 5, will kick off. The manned space project will start a new journey, and private space will be brilliant. Let's wait and see to meet the new brilliance of China's aerospace industry

 

[xizhimen]

One launch each week, a very busy schedule that no one has ever done in the whole history.

 

[HariPrasad-1]

India too is geared up for 2 mission per month. India will carry record numbers of satellites. Most of Indian missions carry multiple satellites in single mission including satellites to be put in different orbits. Since India can launch such complex missions, launch cost can be minimized. India' SSLV will reduce launch cost by 10% of current cost of launch of India which is already cheaper by 40 to 50% any where. SSLV will be ready within a week for a launch.

 

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Bro, please post space related topics in CNSA thread
https://defenceforumindia.com/forum/threads/cnsa-news-updates-and-discussions.76985/page-13

 

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Yutu-2 rover one year anniversary!

 

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attach a video.............

 

[f3243007008]

India too is geared up for 2 mission per month. India will carry record numbers of satellites. Most of Indian missions carry multiple satellites in single mission including satellites to be put in different orbits. Since India can launch such complex missions, launch cost can be minimized. India' SSLV will reduce launch cost by 10% of current cost of launch of India which is already cheaper by 40 to 50% any where. SSLV will be ready within a week for a launch.

India is also very good at space industry.

 

[HariPrasad-1]

India is also very good at space industry.

Very good as well as well recognized.

 

[xizhimen]

China's heaviest satellite positioned in geosynchronous orbit
Xinhua, January 6, 2020
Adjust font size:

China's heaviest and most advanced satellite, Shijian-20, reached its fixed position in geosynchronous orbit Sunday, marking the first successful flight of DFH-5 satellite platform, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

The Shijian-20 satellite is the first verification satellite for DFH-5 satellite platform, China's new generation of large geosynchronous orbit satellite platform.

At present, the satellite has completed the orbit transfer and verified the key technologies of the DFH-5 satellite platform, according to Li Feng, chief designer of the satellite.

The Shijian-20 satellite was launched into space by the third Long March-5 rocket, China's largest carrier rocket on Dec. 27, 2019. It has carried out orbit experiments for a series of key technologies.

Shijian-20 has the largest solar wings among all China's satellites, with the total wingspan 10 meters wider than that of a Boeing 737 aircraft. The solar wings has unfolded twice, and the increased solar wing area will supply the satellite with abundant power.

Compared with the DFH-3 and DFH-4 satellite platforms, the DFH-5 satellite platform has improved in weight, power and in-orbit lifespan, which will serve the needs of high-capacity satellites in the next 20 years, said Zhou Zhicheng, chief engineer of the DFH-5 satellite platform.

http://www.china.org.cn/china/2020-01/06/content_75581288.htm

 

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Interesting events scheduled of the year
1. April 2020, Long March 5B, new generation crew spacecraft test flight, from Wenchang.
2. July-August 2020, Long March 5, Huoxing-1 Mars rover launch, from Wenchang.
3. Dec 2020, Long March 5, Chang'E 5 moon sample return, from Wenchang.
Tianhe space station core module launch is delayed to 2021.

Launch schedule of Jan 2020
1. 7 Jan 2020, Long March 3B, classified payload dubbed TJS-5, probably a missile early warning satellite, from Xichang
2. 12 Jan 2020, Kuaizhou 1A, 5G satellite Yinhe-01, from Jiuquan
3. 15 Jan 2020, Long March 2B, earth observation satellite Jilin 1 Wideband & Argentina cubesats, from Taiyuan

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Chinese Lunar New Year Launch Break!
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I may not be able to follow every mission, I'll probably update once a month.

 

[xizhimen]

Year in review: China’s major scientific and infrastructure achievements
6 JANUARY 2020 • 5:30PM

This photo taken by the rover Yutu 2 on 11 January 2019 shows the lander of the Chang’e 4 probe on the MoonCREDIT: XINHUA / CHINA NATIONAL SPACE ADMINISTRATION

2019 marked another year of accomplishments for China – here are some of the many achievements of the past 12 months that made Chinese people especially proud of their nation

Chang’e 4 makes the first landing on the far side of the Moon
The Chang’e 4 lunar probe landed at 10.26am on 3 January on the Von Karman crater in the South Pole-Aitken basin, making the first-ever landing on the far side of the Moon.

China’s lunar rover Yutu 2 drove 345m (1,132ft) on the far side of the Moon, a new record for the furthest distance ever made by a rover, the Lunar Exploration and Space Programme Centre of the China National Space Administration said on 4 December.

The rover is expected to continue to break its own record as its lunar journey continues.

Maglev train prototype with top speed of 600km/h unveiled
China unveiled a prototype magnetic levitation train with a designed maximum speed of 600km/h (about 373mph) in Qingdao, Shandong province, on 23 May.

The debut of the prototype marked a major breakthrough by China in high-speed maglev trains. The engineering prototype is expected to roll off the production line this year and to undergo comprehensive testing and be made ready for commercial manufacturing in 2021.

A prototype magnetic levitation train with a top speed of 600 km/h was unveiled in Qingdao, Shandong province, on May 23, 2019 CREDIT: XINHUA

First rocket launch at sea a success
China carried out its first seaborne space launch in its territorial waters in the Yellow Sea on 5 June, opening a new chapter in its space industry.

A Long March 11 solid-propellant carrier rocket blasted off at 12.06pm from a mobile launch platform – a modified submersible craft – off Shandong province, sending seven satellites into an orbit nearly 600km (about 370 miles) above Earth.

A Long March 11 solid-propellant carrier rocket, with a payload of seven satellites, blasted off from a mobile launch platform off the coast of Shandong province on 5 June 2019CREDIT: ZHU XINGXIN / CHINA DAILY

The mission, the first seaborne space launch in the past five years, showed China’s possession of technologies and capabilities required for such an operation and also indicated the country has found an alternative to its ground-based launch centres.

First batch of co-operation projects on Chinese space station released
China’s space station is set to welcome on board nine international scientific projects from 17 countries covering a wide range of research areas.

A full-size model of the core module of China's space station Tianhe is exhibited at the 12th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, Guangdong province CREDIT: XINHUA

They include space life sciences and biotechnology, microgravity physics and astronomy, the China Manned Space Agency and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs announced on 12 June in Vienna, the Austrian capital.

China’s space station is expected to be completed in 2022. It will serve as a space laboratory to carry out multidisciplinary scientific research, technological verifications and applications.

FAST telescope picks up “mysterious radio burst” for first time
China’s Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope(FAST) has detected a repeating fast radio burst (FRB) – a mysterious radio signal from space – for the first time. The FRB originated about three billion light years away from Earth, scientists on the FAST project revealed on 4 September.

FRBs are one of the hottest topics in astronomy – the first FRB was detected in 2007. Fewer than 100 FRBs have been detected internationally to date.

Seen from the air: China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope in Southwest China's Guizhou province CREDIT: XINHUA

Beijing Daxing international airport begins operations
The first flight from Beijing Daxing international airport was by a China Southern Airlines A380 on 25 September at 4.22 pm to Guangzhou Baiyun international airport.

The flight signalled the beginning of operations at the facility after five years of construction.

Beijing Daxing international airport after the new facility opened to traffic on 25 September 2019CREDIT: ZOU HONG / CHINA DAILY

With four runways, 268 parking bays and a vast terminal building covering 700,000sq meters (7,534,737sq ft), the new airport is expected to handle 45 million passenger trips a year by 2022 and 72 million by 2025, with international flights accounting for 20 per cent and 40 per cent of the total respectively.

 

[xizhimen]

Xuelong 2 starts maiden Antarctic mission
China’s first domestically built research icebreaker Xuelong 2embarked on its maiden voyage to the Antarctic from Shenzhen in Guangdong province on 15 October.

The voyage is a major part of China’s 36th Antarctic expedition, which involves 413 scientists, researchers and support staff. Xuelong 2’s predecessor Xuelong also joined the expedition, the first time that two polar icebreakers have worked together on a Chinese Antarctic expedition.

China’s first domestically made polar icebreaker Xuelong 2 is pictured sailing in the Southern Ocean on 19 November 2019 CREDIT: XINHUA

Xuelong 2 will return to China in late March while Xuelong will come back in mid-April.

China enters commercial 5G era
China officially kicked off commercialisation of 5G services on 31 October, with the nation’s big three telecom operators rolling out their 5G data plans.

Consumers experience 5G-powered virtual reality video services at a China Telecom outlet in BeijingCREDIT: XINHUA

The move means consumers can now pay to access superfast 5G speeds as more than 86,000 5G base stations have already entered service in China, covering 50 cities nationwide.

China is set to become the world’s largest 5G market by 2025, with 460 million 5G users, according to a forecast by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association, a global telecom association.

China-led team discovers biggest stellar black hole
An international team of scientists led by China has discovered a king-size stellar-mass black hole in Earth’s “cosmic backyard” containing the mass of 70 suns. It is the biggest known of its kind and about three times bigger than what scientists previously thought was possible, researchers said on 28 November.

The black hole, named LB-1, was found slowly devouring gas from a nearby star more than 13,800 light years from Earth, relatively nearby, considering the estimated 105,700 light-year diameter of Earth’s galaxy.

An artistic rendering of the LB-1 black hole CREDIT: PROVIDED TO CHINADAILY.COM

LB-1 was first spotted by Chinese scientists in 2016 using spectrum data collected by the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope. An international team of 55 scientists from 28 research institutions in seven nations, including China, the United States and Spain, have worked together in the past three years to confirm the discovery.

Core of Beidou navigation satellite network in place
With the last two medium Earth orbit satellites of the Beidou’s third-generation system launched on 16 December, China has finished the deployment of the core constellation of its Beidou Navigation Satellite System.

A model of Beidou Navigation Satellite System is on display at the 20th China Beijing International Hi-Tech Expo on June 9, 2017 CREDIT: PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

Currently, there are 46 Beidou satellites in service in space. The China Satellite Navigation Office intends to position two more Beidou satellites in geostationary orbit in the first half of 2020 to finish the deployment of all of Beidou’s space-based assets.

Beidou is China’s biggest space-based system and is one of four space-based navigation networks, along with the United States’ GPS, Russia’s Glonass and the European Union’s Galileo.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/china-watch/technology/china-science-and-technology-achievements-2019/

 

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23:20 7 Jan 2020
China's Long March 3B rocket launched a communication technology demonstration satellite TJS-5 from Xichang.

The mission is the 324 flight of Long March series.

 

[xizhimen]

China’s first launch of 2020 lofts mystery payload
January 7, 2020

A Long March 3B rocket lifts off Tuesday with the TJS 5 satellite. Credit: People’s Daily

A Chinese Long March 3B rocket launched a satellite Tuesday toward a position in geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) above Earth. Chinese state media claimed the mysterious spacecraft has a communication and television broadcast mission, but analysts believe it could enter service for the Chinese military.


The Long March 3B launcher lifted off from the Xichang space center in southwestern China’s Sichuan province at 1520 GMT (10:20 a.m. EST; 11:20 p.m. Beijing time) Tuesday, Chinese state media reported.

Four liquid-fueled strap-on engines gave an extra boost to the three-stage, 184-foot-tall (55-meter) rocket as it arced toward the east from Xichang, setting off on China’s first satellite launch of 2020.

The Long March 3B’s third stage was expected to deploy the satellite, designated TJS 5, into an elliptical geostationary transfer orbit with an apogee, or high point, stretching more than 22,000 miles above Earth.

Chinese state media declared the launch was a success. U.S. military tracking data later confirmed the satellite was deployed into the expected orbit.

The TJS 5 satellite is the fifth in a line of Chinese missions that have intrigued Western analysts. The first TJS satellite launched in 2015, and the timing and circumstances of the TJS 5 launch suggest a similarity with the deployment of the TJS 5 spacecraft in January 2017.

The TJS 2 and TJS 5 satellites were both manufactured by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, according to Chinese media reports. And both satellites launched from Xichang atop Long March 3B rockets in early January, with liftoff times separated by just two minutes.

Chinese state television said that TJS 5 satellite will support communications, television broadcast, data transmission and other services. But China’s government-run media apparatus often identifies the owner or end user of the country’s other satellites.

That was not the case with the TJS series of satellites.

Analysts speculated the TJS 2 satellite launched in 2017 may have a military mission, such providing as missile detection and early warning services to the Chinese armed forces.

Like the TJS 2 spacecraft, the TJS 5 satellite is expected to use its own thrusters to maneuver into a circular geostationary orbit nearly 22,300 miles (35,800 kilometers) above the equator.

Tuesday’s launch was the first of more than 40 Chinese satellite deployment missions planned in 2020, following a busy 2019 that saw Chinese rockets perform 34 orbital launch attempts, with 32 successes.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/01/07/chinas-first-launch-of-2020-lofts-mystery-payload/

 

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China News Agency, Beijing, January 8 (Guo Chaokai) A reporter learned from the China Manned Space Engineering Office(http://www.cmse.gov.cn/) on the 8th that the China Space Station system has completed the production of prototype products of the test core module and is conducting assembly and integration testing.

Recently, the China Manned Space Engineering Office organized a working meeting on the mission quality of the space station in Beijing. The meeting heard the quality work report on the space station mission development of engineering departments such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, and the Manned Space Engineering Office, comprehensively summarized the preliminary quality work, systematically analyzed the current quality situation facing the project, and proposed follow-up Do a good job of the focus and measures of the mission quality work of the space station.

At present, China's manned spaceflight project is already in the final step of its "three-step" strategy, namely the space station mission phase. The overall development of each system is progressing as planned, and it has entered the peak period of production testing. The space station system has completed the production of prototype products of the test core module, and is undergoing assembly and integration testing. Preparation for the first flight mission.

According to the mission planning, the China Space Station project is divided into three stages: key technology verification, construction and operation. During the key technology verification phase, six flight missions including the first flight of the Long March 5B carrier rocket, the Tianhe-1 test core module, the Shenzhou spacecraft, and the Tianzhou spacecraft were arranged; the construction phase was arranged with the Wentian space module, Mengtian space module, and Shenzhou spacecraft, Tianzhou spacecraft and 6 other missions. During the space station's orbital operation, crew transportation will be provided by the Shenzhou manned spacecraft, and supply support will be provided by the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft.

Machine translate from
http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2020/01-08/9054219.shtml

 

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Recent progress of China's 200 ton thrust class LOX/LH2 cryogenic engine

China's 200-ton hydrogen-oxygen engine YF-90 (formerly designated YF220) is expected to be a second engine for the Long March 9.

High pressure combustion cycle, vacuum specific impulse of 453s, vacuum thrust of 2200kN, engine mixing ratio of 6, with two-way swing and thrust adjustment capability (65% -100%).

Research progress:

The demonstration and design of the engine and its components have been completed, and a numerical simulation study of the working process of the engine and its components has been carried out. Through the bench test and the cold and hot test of the test piece, the key technology and scheme selection of the component were studied.

Multi-round turbo pump bearing and dynamic seal bench test, multi-round assembly structure high-pressure static seal and valve high-pressure dynamic seal verification test were completed.

44 thermal tests have been completed for the pre-ignition torch electric igniter and thrust chamber torch electric igniter.

In 2018, 10 compression heat tests were performed on the reduction pre-combustion chamber, and 6 classification combustion heat tests on the reduction pre-combustion chamber and the reduction thrust chamber were completed.

In June 2019, four full-scale pre-combustion chamber extrusion thermal tests were carried out. The research showed that the key technology of the high-pressure and high-flow pre-combustion chamber of the supplemental combustion cycle hydrogen and oxygen engine was initially completed.

Multiple bench tests of the main hydrogen and oxygen turbopumps and pre-pressurized turbopumps have been carried out. The turbopump's new circumferential split-floating floating ring dynamic sealing liquid nitrogen environment bench test has been performed. The helium consumption has been significantly reduced compared with existing models of engines.

In the subsequent development, the following key technologies need to focus on:

1. Start-up and shutdown process control for combustion cycle engine.
2. Engine assembly structure.
3. High-pressure hydrogen-oxygen turbine pump.
4. Combustion thrust chamber.
5. Large-scale variable thrust adjustment.
6. Engine materials and manufacturing.
7, supplemental combustion engine test. Including vacuum ignition and high-mode test for high-thrust combustion engines, high-precision test, engine fault diagnosis and health management.

google translate from part of
http://shht.ijournal.cn/ch/reader/view_abstract.aspx?file_no=20190603&flag=1

 

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10:53 15 Jan 2020
China's Long March 2B rocket launched an earth observation satellite Jilin-1 wideband and Argentina cubesats from Taiyuan.

The mission is the 325 flight of Long March series.