China's Space Program News Thread

[taxiya]

Time schedule of (broad)casting/video recording team. It seems that 20:00 to 23:00 of 27th is the launch time.
6. Dec 24th, broadcasting system ready, full procedure test run, signal testing.
7. 25th and 26th, test runs according to situation on site.
8. 27th (preliminary timing), formal broadcast. team departure at 17:30 from hotel.
1) at 6:30(PM), enter 508 (building), between 8:00-9:00 9th floor (508 building)
2) 10:00-11:00 (PM) 9th floor (508 building).

Note

1. 直播 (direct cast), 转播 (relay cast) are almost identical in Chinese usage. However, "direct cast" does not necessarily mean unlimited public broadcast by TV channels although very likely. It can only be 100% certain if the team is from CCTV. If it is documentary video team to relay the launch sequence back to control center in Beijing, it is technically broadcast but not in the sense of commercial sense.
2. I deliberately used cast instead of broadcast because the Chinese word for broadcast is "广播" where 广 is broad, 播 is cast. The word "broadcast" is not in the attached schedule.

 

[antiterror13]

Hope this launch would be fully successful, has been a while since the last launch (~2.5 years ago) which was not fully successful

DFH-5 is a beast, a new generation and one of the best in the world ... note: with electric propulsion

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"The DFH-5 satellite platform is a large trussed satellite platform of new-generation, developed by China itself. Its technical specifications reached an advanced world level. The DFH-5 has a launch mass of 8000 kg, payload of 1500 kg, providing 18 kilowatts payload power, high load, high power, high heat dissipation, long life, scalability, etc., using a truss structure, high power distribution systems, advanced electronics and integrated multi-mode high-thrust electric propulsion and other advanced technology to meet the needs of communications and other devices"

 

[Quickie]

Yutu-2 just broke the Soviet Lunokhod 1's record time of working on the moon surface.

Good thing China has worked with other countries ( Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Saudi Arabia in this project alone) in their moon exploration. This in contrast to the U.S. (Not so much for Russia because of the Soviet broke up) who has not collaborated with anyone countries in the more than 50 years of any of their moon exploration missions.

China's lunar rover Jade Rabbit-2 breaks record of working time on Moon
Source: Xinhua| 2019-12-21 15:46:36|Editor: mingmei


BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- China's Jade Rabbit-2, or Yutu-2, has become the longest-working lunar rover on the moon, as it started to work for the 13th lunar day on the far side of the moon.

Previously the record was held by Lunokhod 1, the Soviet robotic rover that became the world's first to be sent to the moon in 1970, where it worked for about 10 months.

China's Chang'e-4 probe including a lander and Jade Rabbit-2, launched on Dec. 8, 2018, made the first-ever soft landing on the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon on Jan. 3, 2019.

Both the lander and rover have resumed work for the 13th lunar day after laying dormant during the extremely cold night, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.

The lander woke up at 5:14 a.m. Saturday (Beijing time), and the rover awoke at 6:43 p.m. Friday. Both are in normal working order.

The rover has driven more than 345 meters on the far side of the moon to conduct a scientific exploration of the virgin territory.

A lunar day equals 14 days on Earth, a lunar night is the same length. The Chang'e-4 probe switches to dormant mode during the lunar night due to a lack of solar power.

The scientific tasks of the Chang'e-4 mission include conducting low-frequency radio astronomical observation, surveying the terrain and landforms, detecting the mineral composition and shallow lunar surface structure and measuring neutron radiation and neutral atoms.

The Chang'e-4 mission embodies China's hope to combine wisdom in space exploration with four payloads developed by the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Saudi Arabia.

 

[by78]

Foggy day.

 

[taxiya]

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Asia's largest CNC Spin forming machine made in Xi'an aero industrial base. Please ignore the sentimental part of "largest in Asia" though.

According to the article , the type number is 5800, representing the largest working piece is 5.8 meters in diameter. Application includes rocket fuel tank dome. So far the recent 5 meter fuel tank was made by welding pieces. Could be used in future 921 and CZ-9 booster, or to improve CZ-5 core.

The article also mentioned that there is a type 3600 already. Seems to aiming at 3.35 and 2.25 meter fuel tanks, covering all the rest.

I wonder what is the largest diameter machine in the world and which country makes it.

 

[by78]

One more.

(1365 × 2048)

 

[bd popeye]

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The commercial suborbital carrier rocket Tansuo-1 blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province, Dec. 25, 2019. The commercial suborbital carrier rocket Tansuo-1 developed by a private Chinese company was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China Wednesday.

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The rocket can serve purposes of meteorological observation, microgravity testing as well as satellite payload experiments. It was the maiden flight of the first rocket developed by the company. (Photos by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

 

[anzha]

The Xinhua news agency reports that i-Space (aka, Beijing Interstellar Glory Space Technology Co., Ltd.) test fired its reusable JD-1 oxygen-methane rocket engines for 500 seconds on Wednesday.

As the key to the reuse of carrier rockets, the engine was designed to be used up to 30 times. It can save more than 70 percent in manufacturing cost for the rockets, according to the developer.

The engine can meet multi-mission requirements such as deceleration, landing, as well as long time in orbit and deep space exploration. It has a strong adaptability to missions, the developer said.

The engine will be used in the Hyperbola-2 launch vehicle, which is designed to place 1.9 tons into low Earth Orbit. The first test launch is planned for 2021.

sauce:

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Not much more to it.

 

[discspinner]

Here's a live feed of Long March 5 return to flight tonight 1245 UTC:

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[Quickie]

Wow... I cut and paste "1245 UTC" into google search and it immediately shows my corresponding local time and location, down to my district!