X-37 uses TUFROC.
China's Space Program Thread II
- Thread starter Blitzo
- Start date
In addition to the improvement of system service capabilities, the 56th Beidou satellite has also carried out some technical status upgrades and improvements to increase the precision point positioning signal landing power and signal broadcast rate, and optimize the precision point positioning through on-orbit test verification The service technology system, on the one hand, further improves the accuracy of precise single-point positioning services, and at the same time shortens the time for positioning solution convergence; on the other hand, it expands from the current two-system enhancement to four-system enhancement.
The 56th Beidou satellite was originally the network backup satellite of Beidou-3. Because the previous three satellites were successfully launched and operated stably in orbit, the satellite was converted into an operational backup satellite. "This is the identity change of the 56th Beidou satellite. In addition, it also undertakes the task of ground test verification and continuous improvement of satellite capabilities in orbit." Wang Dong, deputy commander of Beidou-3, said.
The 56th Beidou satellite was originally the network backup satellite of Beidou-3. Because the previous three satellites were successfully launched and operated stably in orbit, the satellite was converted into an operational backup satellite. "This is the identity change of the 56th Beidou satellite. In addition, it also undertakes the task of ground test verification and continuous improvement of satellite capabilities in orbit." Wang Dong, deputy commander of Beidou-3, said.
Here is what I found about TUFROC
Size
It is used as wing leading edges and nose cap of X-37. The dimensions of tested pieces are
TUFROC systems have been fabricated and tested in the various configurations as shown in the figure. The 5º blunt cone is 6.35 cm thick, and has a 1.27 cm corner radius. The sharp leading edge wedge has a 10º half-angle, is 10.2 cm wide, and has leading edge radii of 0.158 cm and 0.318 cm. The blunt leading edge wedge has a leading edge radius of 5.08 cm and is 20.2 cm wide. These configurations have thermocouples installed at the junction between the cap and insulator, and in the aluminum base-plate behind the insulation. Finally, to evaluate the flight performance of a TUFROC TPS on the wing leading edge of the X- 37, a pylon test article was created consisting of two tiles: a base tile (20.3×20.3 cm square) with a pylon protruding from it, and an upper portion 10.2 cm long. All test articles, except the pylon, contain a threaded aluminum-mounting ring bonded into their bases so that they can be attached to a water-cooled strut.
As can be seen, they are far smaller than tile of PICA-X largest being around 60cm. X-37B's height is 2.9m including the V-tails. The nose cap is in many pieces, presumably the same size as base tile of the pylon (20.3 cm).
Strength
I can not find any data about the strength (compressive and stretch pressure) of TUFROC, if you have anything, please share. Worth to note that China's latest tile is 3 to 6 times stronger than any other counter parts
Density
TUFROC is 0.4g/cm3 which is densier than PICA-X, it is at the level of Tianwen-1.
With the limited information, I can say that TUFROC is in the same league of PICA-X and AVCOAT, while China's latest is far ahead in terms of strength and size.
by78
General
High-resolution images of the ChinaSat-26 (Zhongxing-26) launch by a LM-3B rocket. This was the 463rd mission of the Long March series of launch vehicles.
According to CASC's official Weibo account, on May 23rd, China Satcom successfully demonstrated broadband internet connectivity in Jakarta, Indonedia using Zhongxing-26. During the demonstration process, the portable terminal completed the process from equipment assembly to satellite network connection within 120 seconds.
by78
General
A published of Mr. Yang Yiqiang (杨毅强), the chief of the private launch provider Zhongke/CAS Space. Zhongke has moved its headquarters to Nansha district of Guangzhou and is looking to establish an extensive R&D and manufacturing base there, including the building of 200-ton and 400-ton engine test benches.
by78
General
Another supplier (LightYear Exploration Technology) for stainless steel propellant tanks.
LightYear Exploration Technology recently held a seminar on stainless steel propellant tank technology, which was well attended, with experts and representatives from three separates institutes of CASIC, the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, and even the shipbuilder CSIC in attendance.
by78
General
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 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).
Artist's impression of GalaxySpace's stackable 5G communications satellites (accuracy is not guaranteed). The company is currently busy preparing for the launch scheduled for Q3 of this year.
Can the admin please delete this? Causing lot of trouble and trouble to the author of the PPT. He is asking to delete it.Some presentation slides on the heat resistant material used on the (à la Sino X-37B). The material has been applied to the leading edge and the landing gear doors of the spacecraft.
The Chinese heat resistant material has a density of between 0.32 and 0.54 grams per cubic centimeter, which falls somewhere between and , but its thermal conductivity is significantly lower (only 0.08 W/mK) compared to AVCOAT (0.16) and PICA-X (0.3). It's also easier to manufacture and has far superior compressive and tensile strength as well as superior toughness. The material can be fashioned into far larger parts/tiles than foreign competitors.
The third slide states that the reusability of the material is greater than 77%, presumably meaning that more than 77% of heat-resistant/ablative tiles can be reused for another mission. This was demonstrated in August of 2018 when the spacecraft returned to Earth, and out of the 1275 tiles(?), only 286 needed to be replaced.
By the way, the first image below is the very first close-up photo of the mysterious Chinese spaceplane that I have come across.
Deleting it would solve nothing. Published on the internet = the people who are seriously looking for this kind of info have already downloaded it 10 times over, and stored its copies offline in different locations.
Good luck to the author, next time he should be more careful.
And those who hadn't done, did that after seeing the deletion request. The requester should have messaged the mods.