China's Space Program News Thread

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TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
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just for fun this is the Tianhe 1 module the core from which the station would be built tianhe_blog_sina.jpg
And this is the Mir Core module
core2.gif
same layout almost identical. This is why I am comparing the Chinese station more to Mir and the Russian Orbital segment then the ISS and American Orbital segment. This also answers some of my earlier questions the Chinese will use the same docking system to construct the station as docking visiting craft.
 

Equation

Lieutenant General
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just for fun this is the Tianhe 1 module the core from which the station would be built View attachment 27931
And this is the Mir Core module
View attachment 27932
same layout almost identical. This is why I am comparing the Chinese station more to Mir and the Russian Orbital segment then the ISS and American Orbital segment. This also answers some of my earlier questions the Chinese will use the same docking system to construct the station as docking visiting craft.

There are more to it than just looks alone. They both look different to me.
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
oh no doubt they will be light years apart in technologies but the main architecture is based on the same roots. The station will as such be limited to a fixed number of modules about 5-6 It will be limited to the solar arrays affixed to those which will limit power generation. Large cargo will be limited to what can fit through the smaller hatches.
The ISS gets around these by being basically two and a half space stations. The Russian Orbital segment is based directly on Mir it started out as Mir 2, And the US orbital segment.
The US Orbital segment is the one and a half stations. The Pressurized Modules, Unity, Tranquility, The coupila, Quest, Destiny, Harmony, Columbus, Kibo, Leonardo These are Built from MPLM modules or derived from the same. They are interconnected by Birthing docks. they are not stand alone modules they are docked by the Canadarms, they may have life support system but are dependent on the half station.
The Integrated truss system. The Truss is the massive structure that sits over the station mounts the 4 massive solar arrays and cooling radiators It mounts a second canadarm and a third robot arm as well as a train system that moves equipment back and forth. It plays host to the reaction wheels that keep the station on course and stores spare parts.
The Advantage of the Mir like structure is It's easier to assemble Fire off half a dozen rockets or so and dock them in orbit occasionally sent up a crew to plumb and wire.
The Advantage of the ISS is it's massive. I mean you need a special module like the Olympus concept which demands a massive launcher. The ISS demanded the shuttle to get it up in space and the arms and crews to build it. It's a massive structure. the advantage being that it has massive potential for power generation and expansion. the only issue being the life span of the panels and cooling systems.
 

escobar

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Space is a frontier that could soon fall to privately funded Chinese start-ups looking for commercial opportunities created by the sky-high costs of the state-run space programme, which one expert describes as “probably the most expensive in the world”.

Visitors to the simple but sleek website of Beijing-based One Space Technology are greeted with the slogan “We create space express”. With its first commercial rocket launch scheduled for 2018, the private aerospace company has vowed to become China’s version of US rocket launch firm SpaceX, with a low-cost launch vehicle that would “make a space journey as convenient as hailing a cab”.

A key investor in One Space was Legend Holdings, the mother company of Lenovo, the world’s largest personal computer maker, which owns a substantial but unspecified share of the company through its venture capital fund Legend Star, One Space’s website says. Other institutional shareholders include the HIT Robot Group at Harbin Institute of Technology, China’s top space technology research university, and internet-based venture capital firms such as Chun Xiao Capital and Land Stone Capital.

Qi Shiyang, a spokesman for Beijing-based Chun Xiao, said its strategic investment in the space sector had been “welcomed and encouraged” by government. The commercial satellite business in China had recently been “fully opened” by the authorities to private companies, he said.

Due to the strong demand for satellites in the industrial and commercial sectors, China’s small and micro satellite market would soon see explosive growth, Qi said. The strong demand for satellites, which far exceeded the existing launch resources, had created a capital market opportunity, he said.

One Space had built up a very strong team of rocket engineers and its chief executive, Shu Chang, was a pragmatic entrepreneur, which was another reason why Chun Xiao had invested in the start-up, Qi added. “In the short-term the launch cost can be reduced to 50 per cent of the ‘national team’, and just one-tenth in the long run – very competitive,” he said.

But Qi also raised a common concern among private investors. Most rocket launch pads in China are controlled by the military and access to such facilities is not easy. One Space chief Shu graduated from Beihang University in 2008 with a major in aircraft design and later worked as an investment fund manager at Legend Holdings.

In an interview with New Seed, an online venture capital service platform in Beijing, Shu said target customers included high-end manufacturing industry, pharmaceutical companies and agriculture and mining businesses that were looking to space for the development of new products, new services and new resources.

“We have strong evidence [of our ability] to become China’s SpaceX,” the website quoted Shu as saying. One Space is developing a three-stage rocket about the height of a seven-floor building at its headquarters in the hi-tech industry zone in Daxing, Beijing. It says the rocket will be able to lift a small satellite weighing up to 700kg into a 600km orbit at “very low cost”.

Several other space start-ups have been funded by private investors in China in the past couple of years, including Shenzhen-based Link Space, which is developing sounding rockets for government and business clients, and Beijing-based Space Vision, which is focused on near-space tourism with the aim of becoming China’s answer to Virgin Galactic.

In 2007, China and Japan each sent an orbiter to the Moon. China’s Chang’e probe cost 1.4 billion yuan and Japans’ Selene 32 billion yen. Adjusted for purchasing power parity at the time, the actual cost of Chang’e was a third higher than the Japanese spacecraft.

“The space programme costs way too much in China,” said Professor Zong Qiugang, a researcher with the Institute of Space Physics and Applied Technology at Peking University. “Considering the relatively low wages of workers and researchers, it is probably the most expensive in the world.”

The costs were mainly driven up by the monopolies of state-owned or military-run companies in the traditional space industry. Without sufficient competition, the productivity and efficiency in the Chinese space industry was low in comparison to its counterparts in other nations, including India.

“The price they charge customers is unreasonably high and the need to cut costs is urgent,” said Zong, who has worked with the US, European, Japanese and Chinese space agencies.

China’s space budget exceeded US$11 billion in 2013, making it the second largest in the world after the United States, according to an estimate by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

With the goal of becoming a new superpower in space, the Chinese government has ambitious plans for a space station and the exploration of Mars, to close the gap with the US and Russia.

But China fashioned its state-run space industry after that of the former Soviet Union. While that centralised structure worked for a poor country with limited resources, it came under increasing challenge from the private sector as the mainland economy grew to become the world’s second largest.

Robin Li Yanhong, the founder and president of Baidu, China’s largest search engine, submitted a proposal to the National People’s Congress in 2014 urging the government to open up the space industry to private investors. Without the participation of private companies, China’s space technology would not be able to compete with that of the US, Europe or Japan, Li said in the proposal.

His efforts bore fruit, with President Xi Jinping telling a meeting of high-ranking military officers last year that the involvement of private businesses in military-related industries would be prioritised as a “national strategy”. “It is a matter of national security and development,” the Communist Party mouthpiece People’ s Daily quoted Xi as saying.

After decades of rapid economic development, China’s private business sector has accumulated enough technological know-how, research talent and financial strength to enter the space business, according to mainland space experts. Some were already important suppliers to the military.

One Space says on its website that it built up a sizable team of high-quality researchers in less than a year. More than a third of its researchers had PhDs and more than 80 per cent of its staff had more than five years of work experience in China’s top space companies and research institutes including China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, China Aviation Industry and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Li Junwei, a rocket expert at Beijing Institute of Technology’s school of aerospace engineering, said private space companies such as One Space had generated a considerable buzz on campus.
“Many people are talking about it and many are interested in participating in this new business,” he said.

Rocket technology had become very mature, with many details available in academic journals, and the government had gradually loosened up numerous regulatory restrictions to encourage private participation, Li said. “In China today it is easier than ever to launch a private rocket, as long as you have the money,” he said.

Professor Wang Bing, from Tsinghua University’s school of aerospace engineering, said the private players would speed up the adoption of new technology in China’s space programme. “Private companies are less risk-averse and more willing to use the latest technology,” he said. “They are also smaller and more flexible, which will help technological innovation.”

But there was no guarantee private investors would make a profit or even get their money back, the experts said. Space exploration was a high-risk business and investors should be prepared for failures in the early stages of projects, Wang said. Similar foreign companies such as SpaceX and Virgin Galactic had all dealt with many crashes.

Shenzhen’s Link Space reported a failed test flight at the end of last year, with the rocket exploding in mid-air just seconds after launch. The satellites launched by private companies also tend to be very small. Such “microsatellites” are cheaper but their functionality and data quality is limited by their relatively short life spans.

“Space is not suitable for private companies aiming for quick cash,” Zong said. “You may wait years or even decades before seeing any return. “But those with patience and strength to stay will find unlimited opportunities.”
 

escobar

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A space tracking, telemetry and command facility operated by a unit of China’s People’s Liberation Army is nearing completion at a site in Patagonia, Argentina. The new base, the first of its kind outside of China, includes steerable parabolic antennas 13.5 and 35 meters in diameter, computer & engineering facilities, lodgings for technical staff, and a $10 million electric power plant.Chinese and Argentinian officials announced in late April 2016 that the station will become operational in March 2017.
...
 

escobar

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The world's first satellite that can achieve quantum communication between the space and the Earth will be launched in July.Pan Jianwei, a quantum expert and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, revealed the news at a seminar held in Shanghai.

The satellite is dedicated to quantum science experiments, and it will serve as evidence that China is leading the world to achieve satellite-earth quantum communication, Pan said. "There are many bottlenecks in the information security. The Edward Snowden case has told us that the information in the transmission networks are exposed to risks of being monitored and being attacked by hackers," Pan said.

As the basic unit of matter to carry energy, the quantum is inseparable and could not be copied, Pan said. The no-cloning theory of quantum mechanics is a breakthrough that ensures data encoded in photons is secure on the networks and cannot be captured or copied during transmission, he said.

Pan also said that the 2,000-km quantum communication main network between Beijing and Shanghai will be fully operational in the second half of this year. Government agencies and banks in cities along the route can use it first. President Xi Jinping visited the control center of the Beijing-Shanghai quantum communication main network in April in Hefei, capital of Anhui province, during his field-study tour to the province from April 24 to 27.

In 2012, Pan's group built the world's first metropolitan area quantum network in Hefei, linking 46 nodes to allow real-time voice communications, text messages and file transfers. The quantum satellite is part of the country's Strategic Priority Program on Space Science that started in 2011 and planned to launch four satellites by the end of the year.
 
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escobar

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China has started building what is known as a PNT system to eliminate the service blind areas of the satellite navigation system in rooms, underwater and deep space.The first group will be nine projects, including deep space, underwater positioning, navigation and timing and the technical road map. Applying to bid for the projects are more than 100 well-known research institutions.

"Beidou is a satellite navigation system, after all. It has its limitations in that the signal would be attenuated within a prescribed distance, say 20,000 kilometers or 30,000 kilometers, easy to be interfered by other signals. So we should consider other means, a system based on time and space, known as PNT (positioning, navigation and timing)," said Ran Chengqi, director of the China Satellite Navigation Office.

Up to the present, China has launched five new-generation Beidou navigation satellites and formed a network. The key system and technology, such as the new type of navigation signal system, inter-star links and high-precision satellite clock, have been verified and further enhanced the stability and soundness of the system, with the service abilities improved.

"The PNT system is, in fact, borrowed from the satellite navigation. It means positioning, navigation and timing. Beidou remains the core. We will, of course, combine all the means of the space, air, ground and underwater. The central concept is to make the country's infrastructure solider in structure and more advanced in performance," said Ran.
 
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