China's Space Program Thread II

[by78]

Li Minghua, chief engineer of the First Academy of CASC, gives a presentation on the development plan of China's future launch vehicles:

- Long March 10 in three-stage configuration with its capacity of 27 tons to lunar orbit, will realize China's first manned moon landing.
- Long March 10 in two-stage configuration will be be partially re-usable, with the first stage being recovered via cable capture.
- Long March 9 will not only support China's deep space exploration projects (landing on Mars), but it will also serve as a fast strategic cargo transport to LEO. The reusable version of LM-9 can also be used for express (1 hour or less) cargo delivery at intercontinental distances.
- By 2025, the reliability of launch vehicles will have been greatly improved; by 2035, "smart launch vehicles" will be built and used on a mass scale.
- New concept vehicle technologies are being actively explored and developed, focusing on nuclear thermal propulsion, combined-cycle propulsion, solar sail, and other technologies.

 

[by78]

 

[by78]

More specifics on the Lunar exploration project.

- The pre-selected landing area of Chang'e-7 and Chang'e-8 is the South Pole-Aitken Basin.
- Chang'e-8, planned to be launched around 2028, will carry out key technical experiments on the lunar surface and complete the technical verification of the command center of the Lunar research station. Together with Chang'e-7 and Magpie Bridge 2, it will form a Lunar South Pole research station.
- The International Lunar Research Station, planned to built in the 2030s, will operate autonomously most of the time, with short-term human habitation.
- Manned moon landing by 2030, with follow-up landings to carry out systematic and continuous lunar exploration and technology verifications.

 

[by78]

 

[by78]

Magpie Bridge 2 (鹊桥二号) relay communication satellites will be launched in 2024, composed of Tiandu-1 (天都一号) and Tiandu-2 (天都二号) satellites. The two satellites will cooperate to carry out key technical tests of communication and navigation technologies around the Moon.

Magpie Bridge 2 will provide relay communication service for Chang'e-4, 6, 7, and 8 missions.

Tiandu-1 and Tiandu-2 are developed by the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, weighing 61kg and 15kg, respectively. They will use satellite-to-earth laser ranging and inter-satellite microwave ranging to carry out technical verification of high-precision orbit determination around the Moon, which will provide design reference for the implementation of the future iteration of the Magpie Bridge communication and lunar remote-sensing constellation.

 

[by78]

The China National Space Administration will organize the establishment of the International Lunar Research Station Cooperation Organization (ILRSCO), and the founding members are expected to sign the agreement before June this year

 

[by78]

The Chinese prime minister recently toured Beijing GalaxySpace (a.k.a. Galaxy Aerospace), a private company that develops LEO broadband communications satellites.

Of interest is a presentation slide that shows the company's

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

5G broadband satellites (top left), which will be stackable (similar to Starlink). It looks like prototype(s) already exist.

It's been confirmed! The next-generation 5G broadband satellites developed by Beijing GalaxySpace will be launched sometime in the 3rd quarter of this year (2023).

 

[by78]

An unmanned science station on Mars for long-term research is currently being developed, along with a Mars-to-Earth transport system required to sustain the station.

 

[by78]

The Tianwen-4 mission is planned to be launched around 2040. It will send a probe to study Jupiter and its moon Callisto from their orbits, and then it will perform a flyby of of Uranus.

 

[by78]

According to a presentation by Mr. Wang Chi (王赤) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

two Shenshuo (神梭) probes toward the edge of the solar system.

I believe this is a rendering/artist's impression of the Shenshuo probe. The images are from a promo video from the China National Space Administration.

It's been officially confirmed that the probe will be nuclear powered and will reach the edge of the solar system sometime in 2050.