China's Space Program Thread II

[siegecrossbow]

A minor update. The Xuntian space telescope is scheduled to be launched by the end of 2024, according to the project chief Liu Chao (刘超) at a recent presentation. The launch had been planned for 2024 since the early days, but for a time it was reported that the launch would be moved up to 2023, and now the it has been returned to the original plan.

Rumor has it that the mirror got delayed.

 

[by78]

Rumor has it that the mirror got delayed.

I haven't read anything about the mirror being delayed, but based on the document below, the delay might have been (in part) caused by the

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, which is a critical component for hunting exoplanets. Specifically, there is difficulty in procuring a single-mode butterfly laser diode for calibrating the coronagraph. The diode needs to meet very high requirements, and no off-the-shelf equivalent is available, so it has to be developed from scratch. Currently, there is only one institution (Hangzhou Advanced Research Institute of the National University of Science and Technology/国科大杭州高等研究院) deemed capable of meeting the high requirements and the tight development schedule. Hangzhou Advanced Research Institute can deliver an engineering prototype for appraisal by the end of 2022 to early 2023, and a final prototype can be delivered around mid-2023. The document then recommends that competitive sourcing of the diode be suspended and the contract be immediately awarded to Hangzhou Advanced Research Institute.

Based on the delivery timeline laid out in the document, launching in 2023 is cutting it very close. Getting the diode right will likely take more time, which would explain the delay into 2024. Of course, the diode might not be the only cause of the delay, but so far it's the only one I have seen evidence of.

 

[FairAndUnbiased]

Tianhui 6A&B, SAR sats for ocean mapping
View attachment 108875

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1633987209987764224

only looking for the biggest of whales, that actually reflect RF.

 

[by78]

Taikonaut flight handbooks/manuals for Shenzhou 12 mission, Shenzhou 13 mission, and the Chinese Space Station.

 

[by78]

A progress update on the Hainan spaceport for commercial launches. The first two images below show launchpad no. 1, whose basic ground infrastructure has been finished. Next, the launch tower and other equipment will be erected and installed.

Construction progress on the adjacent launchpad no. 2:

An artist's impression of the finished Launch Pad No. 1 of the Hainan Space Port for commercial launches.

 

[by78]

Some screen captures of an academic paper published by the private launch company LandSpace. It talks about China's LOX/Methane engine development efforts, among other things. The paper mentions that currently LandSpace and Xi'an Aerospace Propulsion Institute are separately working on 200-ton full-flow staged combustion cycle (FFSC) LOX/Methane engines.

Some parameters of LandSpace's FFSC LOX/Methane design (it falls between SpaceX's Raptor and Blue Origin's BE-4):
- Trust (sea level, vacuum): 2200kN, 2355kN
- Specific impulse (sea level, vacuum): 3219m/s or 328.25s, 3461m/s or 352.93s

The paper also lists some parameters for the TQ-12 and TQ-12A engines being developed by LandSpace.
TQ-12:
- Thrust (sea level, vacuum): 658.5kN, 747kN
- Specific impulse (sea level, vacuum): 2779m/s or 283.57s, 3152m/s or 321.63s
- Dry mass (?): <800kg
- Re-usability: >5 times
- Variable thrust range: 80% to 105%

TQ-12A:
- Thrust (sea level, vacuum): 720kN, 807kN
- Specific impulse (sea level, vacuum): 2818m/s or 287.55s, 3160m/s or 322.45s
- Dry mass (?): <700kg
- Re-usability: >10 times
- Variable thrust range: 50 to 105%

 

[escobar]

Some images from the first launch of 2023. A CZ-7A successfully inserted the Shijian-23 (实践二十三号) satellite into orbit. This marks the 459th launch of the Long March series of carrier rockets. The Shijian-23 satellite was developed by the 8th Academy of CASC, and it's used to carry out certain scientific experiments and technical verification.

Shijian 23 near Tianlian 1(3). Ready to tow it to a high graveyard orbit like SJ-21 or it may be a servicing mission...

 

[tphuang]

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looks like they just did a satellite launch for Egypt (Horus-2), after horus-1 was just launched 17 days ago

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[tacoburger]

. It talks about China's LOX/Methane engine development efforts, among other things. The paper mentions that currently LandSpace and Xi'an Aerospace Propulsion Institute are separately working on 200-ton full-flow staged combustion cycle (FFSC) LOX/Methane engines.

Interesting to see how landspace is developing such an complicated and powerful engine so fast. Their first liquid fueled rocket hasn't even made orbit yet. I wonder how much resources that they're using on this vs the development on their smaller rockets and engines.

 

[taxiya]

Interesting to see how landspace is developing such an complicated and powerful engine so fast. Their first liquid fueled rocket hasn't even made orbit yet. I wonder how much resources that they're using on this vs the development on their smaller rockets and engines.

Nothing surprising at all, many if not all engineers of these "private" companies are former employees with years of experience from CASC institutions. What landspace is developing is likely a copy of Xi'an's 200t FFSC. Copy here means the idea and architect (years of research) is the same, not the exact realization.