China's Space Program Thread II

[escobar]

On April 1, 2025, at 12:00, the Long March 2D carrier rocket successfully launched the Satellite Internet Technology Experiment Satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, accurately placing it into its designated orbit. The launch mission was a complete success. This was the 97th launch of the Long March 2D carrier rocket and the 567th launch of the Long March series carrier rockets.

Yuan Jungang, chief designer of GW internet satellites, announced that 400 satellites will be deployed to form the network by 2027. Yuan revealed that he is in charge of the test internet satellites which were launched by a LM-2D in a "one rocket, four satellites" manner on April 1, 2025. These satellites are mainly used for the design of direct satellite connection with mobile phones:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

 

[pipaster]

Tianzhou-9 launch today (EST).

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

 

[by78]

High-resolution images from the Tianzhou-9 launch.

 

[by78]

More high-resolution photos from Tianzhou-9 launch

 

[by78]

Tianzhou-9 has successfully docked with the Chinese space station.

 

[by78]

An observation platform is being built at Wenchang for tourists to watch space launches from afar.

The observation platform was open to tourists during the Tianzhou-9 launch.

 

[by78]

One more images of that AstronStone AS-1 section, with people posing next to it for scale.

AstronStone has successfully carried out static load testing on a structural section of its AS-1 launch vehicle. The section is responsible for joining the engines with its propellant tank. The test simulated up to 120-tons of thrust.

 

[by78]

iSpace/Interstellar Glory/Space Honor has carried out a second batch of hot fire tests of the 70N attitude control engine intended for its Hyperbola-3 launch vehicle. A total of 27 ignitions were carried out, lasting some 1,330 seconds. The performance meets all design parameters and is consistent with the results from the first batch of tests.

iSpace/Interstellar Glory/Space Honor has successfully carried out low-temperature static load testing of the 1st-stage cryogenic methane tank for the Hyperbola-3 launch vehicle. The tank has a diameter of 4.2m and a length of 17m. The test covered all phases of flight, including tank loading, flight, and recovery.

 

[by78]

Beijing Institute of Structure and Environmental Engineering (BISE) has carried out a static load test on a certain launch vehicle. It might be the Long March 10.

 

[tphuang]

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

CETC here talks about the solar panel it developed for the Tianzhou-9 project.

Uses high-voltage, 10,000-watt high-power solar array product, it uses "carbon fiber frame + glass fiber grid structure" as the substrate, and the power supply capacity of the two wings exceeds 8 kilowatts.

it further improves the efficiency of triple-junction gallium arsenide solar cells, solves the problems of anti-static charging and discharging of low-orbit high-voltage solar arrays, and reduces the operating temperature of the solar array, so that the "big body" can also "soar into the sky" and smoothly transport various materials to space.