British aid worker Helen Johnston was rescued along with a Kenyan aid worker and two Afghan aid workers, who were abducted in May, British Foreign Office confirmed on Saturday.
The life sentence for Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak, which was issued by the New Cairo criminal court Saturday, left Egyptian expatriates in Dubai divided over the degree of punishment and their country's future, Xinhua learnt in a quick survey.
“The two satellites will help improve the accuracy of the Beidou, or Compass system,” Xichang Satellite Launch Centre said in a statement carried by the agency.
Sat-nav systems determine a position by measuring the distances to a number of known locations – the spacecraft constellation in orbit
In practice, a sat-nav receiver will capture atomic-clock time signals sent from the satellites and convert them into the respective distances
A sat-nav device will use the data sent from at least four satellites to get the very best estimate of its position – whether on the ground or in the sky
The whole system is monitored from the ground to ensure satellite clocks do not drift and give out timings that might mislead the user
Now partially operational, Beidou makes China only the third country in the world, after the US and Russia, to have its own navigation system.
Russia’s Glonass satellite network has 31 satellites in orbit, but only 24 of them are operational. Four more are in reserve, one undergoing trials, and two under maintenance.
According to the Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos, Russia plans to spend $694m (£427m) on its Glonass system this year.
At a recent annual Satellite Navigation Forum in Moscow, Russia’s deputy prime minister Vladislav Surkov said that more than 300 billion roubles (£6bn, $10.2bn) have been budgeted to further develop Glonass and bring 30 satellites into operation by 2020.
Europe has also been building a navigation system, called Galileo, which has two satellites in orbit, launched in October last year. The next two are scheduled to follow later this year.
The space project of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, plans to have all 26 Galileo satellites in orbit by the end of 2015. – BBC Newscribe : get free news in real time
China has successfully launched a pair of navigation satellites. The launch took place on Sunday Morning from Xichang Satellite Launch Center and marks the first time the Long March 3B launch vehicle has been used for this kind of mission.
The Compass Navigation Satellite System is China’s second-generation satellite navigation system, capable of providing continuous, real-time passive 3D geo-spatial positioning and speed measurement.
The Long March-3B rocket carrying two satellites blasts off from the launch pad at the
Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Xichang,southwest China’s Sichuan Province,on April
30,2012.China successfully launched two satellites into space Monday morning,the 12th
and 13th of its indigenous global navigation and positioning network known as Beidou,
or Compass system,the launch center said.(Xinhua/Tao Ming)
CHINA is moving in the right direction to build a 60-tonne space station around 2020.
On Nov 3, the unmanned Shenzhou 8 shuttle docked with Tiangong-1, which is China’s first space lab module, after travelling 343km in orbit.
The shuttle separated from the target spacecraft after 12 days and carried out its second docking on Nov 14. Two days later, Shenzhou 8 left Tiangong-1 and returned to Earth as scheduled.
News from the China Manned Space Engineering Office is that Tiangong-1 has continued its voyage at a height of 370km smoothly and transferred into a long-term operational mode.
The space lab module will wait for docking with the manned Shenzhou 9 and 10 sometime next year.
According to the office’s vice-director Wang Zhaoyao, during the flight of Shenzhou 8 its general biological experimental device functioned normally and 17 samples of Sino-Germany cooperative space life science experiments were recovered after the shuttle landed at the recovery site in Inner Mongolia.
He said Tiangong-1 had also carried out a series of experiments and tests as scheduled, including space-to-earth remote sensing exploration application experiment, space materials scientific experiment and space environment and physical detection tests.
“This space rendezvous and mission has fully realised its objective of ‘accurate entry into orbit, precise docking, stable assembly operation and safe return’.
“It marks a critical breakthrough for China’s space technology and set a milestone for our manned space development,” he told a press conference recently.
Wang said Tiangong-1, launched into orbit on Sept 29, was designed with a lifespan of more than two years and it would be well maintained until its following docking operations next year.
Under China’s space programme, after completing its first round of missions, Tiangong-1 will return to earth in 2013. It will be replaced by the larger Tiangong-2 and Tiangong-3 modules which will conduct more sophisticated space probes.
Tiangong-3 will probably be a 60-tonne full-size space station to be manned by astronauts.
The China’s Manned Space Engineering Office maintained that China is not working on the space station development alone and the country always welcomed other nations.
“We emphasise independent development but never said we want to develop in isolation. The development and operation of China’s space station are open to foreign colleagues and experts in the field on the principle of mutual respect and benefit, transparency and openness,” Wang said.
China has had fruitful space cooperation with Russia, Germany, France and other nations.
China would like to be involved in the building of the International Space Station together six other space agencies but because of various reasons, China remains excluded from the programme, he added.
He also refuted claims that China’s manned space programmes had military functions.
“We can say that none of the eight Shenzhou missions had direct military applications. But, we all know that space-related technological developments can be used in civilian and military sectors.
“For example, a communications satellite can be used for TV broadcasting and military communication. So it depends on what you use it for,” he added.
Wang hoped that critics would be responsible and fair when criticising China’s space programmes.
“The United States and some media have been criticising our space exploration programme and development saying is not transparent enough. First of all, they have to be fair in their comments.
“Last year, I accompanied Nasa administrator Charles Bolden for a tour of our space programme facilities, laboratories and launching centres in China. He was pleased on how transparent we were,” he said.
China’s space programme consists of three stages. Phase 1 saw the historic launch of the unmanned Shenzhou 1 shuttle in 1999 for missions to conduct space experiments. It was followed by the launch of Shenzhou 2, Shenzhou 3, Shenzhou 4, Shenzhou 5, Shenzhou 6 and Shenzhou 7.
The Shenzhou 7 mission, China’s third manned spacecraft, was the most historic when Chinese astronaut Zhai Zhigang became the first man from China to do a spacewalk on Sept 27, 2008. It marked a successful extra-vehicular activity (EVA) mission for China.
Phase 2 began with the launch of the Tiangong-1 space module. One of the main missions during this phase will be the docking of a manned space shuttle with the space lab.
The space programme administration will decide between Shenzhou 9 and 10 which one will be manned by China’s first female astronaut next year.
China’s space industry to see accelerated expansion over next 10 years
BEIJING, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) — China’s space industry will develop quickly over the next 10 years as the country pushes ahead with its space programs after its first space docking on Thursday.
Lab modules, a space station and 10 to 20 spaceships will be launched into space over the next 10 years, the Shanghai Securities News said Friday, but did not reveal its source.
The country will spend around 300 billion yuan (47.47 billion U.S. dollars) in manufacturing those craft, according to the newspaper.
There are 20 or so space voyages being planned in China, the newspaper reported, citing Wu Ping, spokeswoman of China’s manned space program. The spaceflights will shore up demand for spacecraft manufacturing and launch services.
Space infrastructure has been included as one of China’s strategic new industries which the government plans to foster over the next five years.
China started its three-stage manned space program in 1992.
In the first stage the country sent the astronaut, Yang Liwei, into space as part of the Shenzhou-5 mission in 2003. It was the first time for China to send a person into space.
Also as part of the initial stage, two astronauts conducted extravehicular activities during the Shenzhou-7 mission in 2008.
Now during the second stage China is focusing on space docking.
It achieved its first space docking in wee hours of Thursday when Tiangong-1 and Shenzhou-8 connected in space.
The next significant events will be the launching of Shenzhou-9 and -10, and one of the missions will be manned.
China will complete the second stage after it establishes its own space lab around 2016, Wu said.
In the third stage, China plans to develop and launch multiple space modules, with a goal of assembling a 60-tonne manned space station in 2020.
“The successful docking means China will enter a phase of massive production of spacecraft. The space economy is about to take off,” according to Dongxing Securities.
The succesful launching of the Shenzhou V, the Divine Vessel, on 15 October 2003, with taikonaut Yang Liwei on board, marked a giant leap forward in the Chinese space program that saw its origins in the 1960s. With this result, China joined the club of space-travelling nations that previously had been limited to the United States and the Soviet Union/Russian Federation. A previous Chinese launching , in 1970, had already brought a satellite into orbit that endlessly broadcast Dongfang hong (东方红, The East is Red), not the national anthem, but probably one of the best known Chinese tunes, eulogizing Mao Zedong. The success of this mission was solely ascribed to the genius of Mao Zedong Thought, which had guided the scientists and workers. In reality, Qian Xuesen (1911-2009), a rocket engineer formerly attached to the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California, U.S., who had been expelled in the 1950s for suspected Communist sympathies, designed China’s first missiles, earning him the accolade of being the father of the space program.
In the early 1970s, the Chinese space program was brought to a halt as a result of the political turmoil of the Cultural Revolution. After Deng Xiaoping returned to power in the later 1970s, the program was revived in the 1980s. Clearly, the military industrial complex also benefitted greatly from this development, thus enabling the People’s Liberation Army to demonstrate how well it responded to the political demands to modernize. Space also appealed to the popular imagination, as can be seen from the relatively abundant use of space-related imagery in posters published in the 1980s and 1990s.
Under Jiang Zemin, however, the program, now named the 921 project, really took off in the 1990s. Successes in space exploration are very much seen as results of the CCP’s support for advanced scientific projects that is part and parcel of his theory, the “Three Represents“. The Party has appropriated the space mission rather as another justification for its continued rule, and attempts to use it even further to fan patriotism. In this patriotic discourse, space activities are another indication that demonstrate that China has shaken off the humiliation it has suffered in the past at the hands of the Western imperialist powers and is becoming a nation once more to be reckoned with.
Continue the struggle to realize the basic strategy and the historic duty of the Party, 2002
Moreover, space exploration and scientific research in general are part of the Party strategy to combat specific religious behavior that it sees and terms as superstition. Even in materials aimed at Falun Gong adherents, space imagery has been used in an attempt to bring them back into the fold.
Aside from the numerous benefits for the CCP’s legitimacy, military developments and further space exploration, it stands to reason that the Shenzhou-mission will be exploited endlessly for propaganda purposes. Colonel Yang, for example, immediately was turned into an instant hero. According to media reports, 10.2 million sets of commemorative stamps have been issued. Unfortunately, no commemorative posters seem to have been published! In their absence, I reproduce some earlier artists’ impressions of Chinese space travel below.
Aside from the political use of the space mission, its success really has struck a chord with the people. They feel proud and consider China’s joining of the space family as another indication that the country is regaining some of the splendor and importance it had during its imperial past. As a result, a number of Chinese companies have included the Chinese conquest of space in their printed and television advertising. Jianlibao, a sports drink, already featured a Chinese taikonaut walking on the moon in one of its television commercials broadcast in early 2003.
On 12 October 2005, China launched its second manned spacecraft, the Shenzhou VI, for a multi-manned, multi-day mission. Colonels Fei Junlong (mission commander) and Nie Haisheng (mission operator) embarked on a flight scheduled to take three to five days, during which they will undertake a number of scientific experiments. The launch is part of a more encompassing space program that includes space walks, the docking of a capsule with a space module and the launch of a permanent space lab. Moreover, in 2006, China started with the selection of women astronauts.
Warmly welcome the visit to Hong Kong of the nation’s first taikonaut Yang Liwei and representatives from the manned space flight program, 2003
China opened a new post office Thursday (Nov. 3) with a street address that is 213 miles (343 km) above the Earth.
Coinciding with the country achieving its first ever docking in space between the unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft and Tiangong-1 space lab module, the “China Post Space Office” opened for business both on the ground in Beijing Aerospace City and, at least virtually, on board the newly established orbital complex.
Located on the ground near China’s mission control, the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center (BACC), the new space post office even has its own zip code that extends into orbit: 901001.
Like any postal facility, the office will process letters and, in this case, e-mails, making it possible for the public to write Chinese astronauts, or “taikonauts,” on the ground and in space. The space post office will offer domestic and international delivery as well as philatelic products, with more services expected to be introduced as China’s aerospace industry eventually expands.
Yang Liwei, who in 2003 became China’s first taikonaut in space, will serve as the post office’s honorary chief.
A partnership between the China Post Group Corporation and the China Manned Space Engineering (CMSE) Office, the post office will also sell philatelic collectibles depicting China’s major events in space. Among the first souvenirs offered are cancelled envelopes, or “covers,” celebrating the Shenzhou 8 and Tiangong 1 docking complete with a commemorative postmark. [Photos From China's 1st Space Docking Mission]
China’s postal service has issued other commemoratives for its country’s previous space accomplishment but not through a dedicated “space” post office.
Shenzhou 8, which launched on Oct. 31 EDT, caught up with and docked at the Tiangong 1 space lab module on Nov. 2 EDT. The two unpiloted spacecraft will remain linked for 12 days before the Shenzhou detaches, backs away, and then approaches again. After the second demonstration of docking techniques, Shenzhou 8 will return to Earth.
In addition to demonstrating docking, Shenzhou 8 is also flying space life science experiments for both China and Germany.
The first docking established China as the third nation to achieve such a space feat with spacecraft designed to carry astronauts, after the United States and Russia. The orbital hookup marked a step forward toward China’s plans to deploy a manned space station by 2020.
Russia has operated a makeshift post office on its space stations since the 1970s and continues to operate such a service on the International Space Station.
The Russian space office consists primarily of a postmark device that is only used in space. Cosmonauts use the ink stamp to mark letters and postcards as having flown in orbit, but also use it to mark other space souvenirs including crew notebooks, equipment and patches.
Follow collectSPACE on Facebook and Twitter @collectSPACE and editor Robert Pearlman @robertpearlman. Copyright 2011 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
China took a crucial step towards fulfilling its ambition to set up a manned space station on Thursday by completing its first successful docking high above Earth, state media reported.
The Shenzhou VIII spacecraft joined onto the Tiangong-1 experimental module at 1737 GMT, silently coupling more than 343 kilometres (213 miles) above the Earth’s surface, the Xinhua news agency said.
The spacecraft, whose name translates as “divine vessel”, is a modified version of the capsules that took the first Chinese astronauts into space as part of the rising power’s ambitious exploration programme.
China aims to complete construction of a space station by 2020, a goal that requires it to perfect docking technology — a delicate manoeuvre that the Russians and Americans successfully completed in the 1960s.
The technology is hard to master because the two vessels, placed in the same orbit and revolving around Earth at high speed, must come together progressively to avoid destroying each other.
China sees its space programme as a symbol of its global stature, growing technical expertise, and the Communist Party’s success in turning around the fortunes of the once poverty-stricken nation.
Chinese leaders including Premier Wen Jiabao were at the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center to watch a live broadcast of the docking, while President Hu Jintao, who is in France for the G20 summit, sent a congratulatory message.
“Breakthroughs in and acquisition of space docking technologies are vital to the three-phase development strategy of our manned space programme,” Hu said.
The docking took eight minutes and was aided by microwave radars, laser distance measurers and video cameras.
The two spacecraft, each weighing about eight tonnes, smoothly captured, cushioned, connected and locked onto each other, Xinhua reported.
“To link up two vehicles traveling at 7.8 km per second in orbit, with a margin of error of no more than 20 centimetres, is like ‘finding a needle in a haystack’,” Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China’s manned space programme, said.
“This will make it possible for China to carry out space exploration on a larger scale.”
He said the country was now equipped with the technology and capacity to construct a space station, adding that Shenzhou VIII might be used as the prototype for a series of spaceships.
China plans to make more than 20 manned space voyages in the next decade, Xinhua said.
A Chinese astronaut trainer is among six volunteers who will emerge on Friday into the outside world after spending almost 18 months in isolation at a Russian research centre to test the effects on humans of a flight to Mars.
China began its manned spaceflight programme in 1990 after buying Russian technology and in 2003 became the third country to send humans into space, after the former Soviet Union and the United States.
In September 2008, the Shenzhou VII, piloted by three astronauts, carried out China’s first space walk.
The Shenzhou VIII spacecraft took off on Tuesday from the Jiuquan base in the northwestern province of Gansu from where Tiangong-1 — or “Heavenly Palace” — also launched on September 29.
The two vessels will stay linked together for around 12 days before separating and uniting again at a later date, said Wu Ping, spokeswoman for China’s manned space programme.
If this mission is a success, China will launch two more spacecraft next year to dock with Tiangong-1 — the Shenzhou IX and Shenzhou X — at least one of which will be manned.
Two women are among the astronauts who are training for this mission, Xinhua said. If they are chosen to go, they will be the first women to be sent into space by China.
In preparation for the manned flight, two life-size dummies have been placed on board Shenzhou VIII.
Electronic data will be transmitted back to Earth to help researchers assess the impact of the flight on human breathing, temperature and blood pressure.
The spacecraft is also being used by Chinese and German researchers to conduct joint experiments in life sciences and microgravity, the first time another country has been given any access to China’s manned space programme.
China plans to launch a space laboratory before 2016, and hopes to have a space station in orbit capable of accommodating long-term stays in space by around 2020, officials have said.
Two unmanned Chinese spacecraft docked successfully and were orbiting the Earth together on Thursday in a step that moves China closer to manning its own space station in about a decade.
The Shenzhou 8 craft that was launched on Tuesday docked with the already orbiting Tiangong 1 module, said Wu Ping, spokeswoman for China’s manned space program.
The assembly has orbited Earth six times, with onboard instruments working normally, she said.
The US and Russia are the only other countries to master the space docking technique. It was “a milestone success and sets a sound foundation for continued missions”, Wu said.
The joint assembly will fly for another 12 days doing tests, then a second docking will be followed by two days’ flight. Shenzhou 8 is scheduled to return to Earth on November 17, she said.
“Our aim is to try our best to perform multiple tests within one launch so as to maximise our benefits through limited launches,” Wu said.
China launched its own space station program after being turned away in its repeated attempts to join the 16-nation International Space Station. That was largely on objections from the United States, which is wary of the Chinese space program’s military links.
Experts see no explicit military function for the Chinese space station.
In terms of technology, the launch of the Tiangong-1 places China about where the US was in the 1960s during the Gemini program. But experts say China progresses further than the US did with each launch it undertakes.
Two more docking missions with the Tiangong 1 model are planned next year, one of them manned. China will set up a space lab by 2016, Wu said, and its actual station will be launched in three sections between 2020 and 2022.
All the parts of the docking mechanism and the more than 600 onboard instruments were designed and made by Chinese state-owned and private companies, she said.
President Hu Jintao praised the docking in a message from France en route to the Group of 20 economic summit. Premier Wen Jiabao and other top officials watched the docking from an aerospace centre in Beijing, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
At about 60 tons when completed, the Chinese station will be considerably smaller than the International Space Station, which is expected to continue operating through 2028.
China launched its first manned flight in 2003, joining Russia and the United States as the only countries to launch humans into orbit. The Chinese space program also calls for one day landing on the moon, possibly with astronauts.
Asked by a reporter what real benefits the Chinese government’s investment in its space program brought to ordinary citizens, Wu said “It’s fair to say that aerospace technology is closely linked to the everyday life of the people.”
She said the benefits of past space travel ranged from the use of satellites for navigating in cars and television broadcasting to the designs of nappies for babies and the freeze-drying of ingredients used in instant noodles.
China has a long-term goal for its space exploration program. And the launch of the Shenzhen 8 Space Shuttle is one of the missions that will be accomplished during the program’s undertaking.
According to the China National Space Administration or CNSA, China’s Space Program consists of three stages.
Phase 1 is the launch of a manned space shuttle that will execute various space experiments. The Shenzhou 5 and 6 have completed this stage’s mission.
The launch of a space laboratory marks Phase 2 of the program. One of the missions during this stage will be the docking of a manned space shuttle and space lab, which is a prototype of China’s ultimate space station to carry out experiments.
Shenzhou 7 was the third human spaceflight, which included the first Chinese extra-vehicular activity or EVA, a milestone during this phase. The launch of the Tiangong Space Lab and Shenzhou 8 to 10 Space Shuttles is expected to complete the rest of the second phase missions, which paves the way for China’s ultimate goal of constructing a space station. Its operation is part of Phase 3, which will take place in the future.
Tiangong-1 is the first Chinese space laboratory module. It is intended as an experimental testbed to develop rendezvous and docking capabilities needed to support a larger space station complex. Tiangong-1 is expected to be visited by three Shenzhou missions during its operational lifetime: the unmanned Shenzhou 8 in 2011, and the manned Shenzhou 9 and 10 in 2012.
After spending approximately two years in orbit, Tiangong-1 will return to earth in 2013. It will be replaced over the following decade by the larger Tiangong-2 and Tiangong-3 modules, which will conduct more sophisticated space experiments and probes. Tiangong 2 will fulfill various experiments, introduce new technologies, and possibly develop space medicine. The full-size, multi-module Tiangong 3 space station will have astronauts stationed inside. The station will be supplied by cargo shuttles.
CNSA says the Tiangong 3, China’s first full-size space station, will be a realistic and multi-functional station to perform experiments, production, probing and storing, which they believe will produce fruitful results. For example, the space station will have the ability to develop new types of vegetables and fruits or produce new materials in space. China has set a goal of having its space station to be in place by 2020.
A Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft closes in on the country’s Tiangong 1 space lab in this still from a mission profile video.
CREDIT: China Manned Space Engineering Office
The successful launch of China’s first space laboratory module this week sets the stage for the future of the country’s ambitious space program. But now that the spacecraft is in orbit, a major docking test looms ahead for China.
The unmanned Tiangong 1 prototype module launched Thursday (Sept. 29) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. Shortly after liftoff, officials at the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, the Mission Control for China’s human spaceflight program, confirmed that the cylindrical module had effectively unfurled its solar arrays.
Chang Wanquan, chief commander of the China Manned Space Engineering office, declared the launch a complete success shortly after liftoff. China’s president Hu Jintao and other state officials attended the launch, according to state media and TV broadcasts. [Gallery: Tiangong 1, China's First Space Laboratory]
Tiangong 1, which means “Heavenly Palace 1″ in Chinese, will now settle into an orbit 217 miles (350 kilometers) above Earth, and mission controllers will perform a series of systems tests.
The launch of Tiangong 1 is an important part of China’s stepping stone strategy to human spaceflight. The space lab module will test crucial docking technology that will be required to meet the nation’s goal of constructing a 60-ton space station in orbit by 2020. [Video: China's First Space Lab Module Lift-Off] Image via Wikipedia
“The implementation of space rendezvous and docking mission, as well as the breakthrough and mastering of rendezvous and docking technology are the basis and premise for the construction of manned space station,” China’s Manned Space Engineering office spokeswoman Wu Ping told reporters before Tiangong 1 launched, according to a translation provided by the office. “It is of great significance for the realization of the three-step strategy of [the] China Manned Space Engineering Project, and the promotion of sustainable development of manned space flight.”
China’s three-step space exploration plan, according to past statements by Chinese space officials, is aimed at first perfecting its human spaceflight transporation system (the Shenzhou spacecraft), then building a space station and moving on to a manned moon landing.
This still from a China space agency video shows a cutaway of a Shenzhou spacecraft docked at the country’s Tiangong 1 space lab, showing how astronauts will move between the two Chinese spacecraft.
CREDIT: China Manned Space Engineering Office
With its first space destination sailing above Earth, China is now planning a series of orbital docking demonstration flights over the next two years.
The country plans to launch three separate spacecraft — Shenzhou 8, Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10 — to robotically connect to Tiangong 1, which will mark the nation’s first docking maneuvers in space. [Infographic: How China's First Space Station Will Work]
According to state media reports, the unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft could be launched in early November, and the mission is expected to last at least 12 days. At least two docking demonstrations will be performed.
If the Shenzhou 8 mission is successful, Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10 are expected to follow in 2012. The Shenzhou 10 flight may also carry the first astronauts to the Tiangong 1 module, a crew that could also include China’s first female astronaut, according to state media reports.
China is only the third nation, after the United States and Russia, to independently launch humans into orbit. China’s first manned mission, Shenzhou 5, was piloted by Yang Liwei on Oct. 15, 2003. Two more manned missions followed, in 2005 and 2008.
BEIJING, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) — China’s first space lab module Tiangong-1, or Heavenly Palace-1, blasted off at 9:16 p.m. Beijing Time (1316 GMT) Thursday in a northwest desert area as the nation envisions the coming of its space station era in about ten years.
The unmanned module, carried by the Long March-2FT1 rocket, will test space docking with a spacecraft later this year, paving the way for China to operate a permanent space station around 2020 and making it the world’s third country to do so.
A Long March-2FT1 carrier rocket loaded with Tiangong-1 unmanned space lab module blasts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China’s Gansu Province, Sept. 29, 2011. (Xinhua/Wang Jianmin)
More than ten minutes after the blastoff, Commander-in-chief of China’s manned space program Chang Wanquan announced the launch’s success at the control center in Beijing.
The success of the launch, however, is just a beginning, and the real challenge is space docking, said Yang Hong, chief designer of Tiangong module series.
DOCKING TESTS
Unlike previous Chinese space vehicles, the Tiangong-1 has a docking facility which allows it to be connected to multiple space modules in order to assemble an experimental station in low Earth orbit.
The Tiangong-1 will orbit the Earth for about one month, awaiting the arrival of the Shenzhou-8 unmanned spacecraft. Once the two vehicles successfully rendezvous, they will conduct the first space docking at a height of 340 kilometers above the earth’s surface.
The Tiangong-1 flies at a speed of 7.8 kilometers per second in orbit, which leaves ground-based staff an error of less than 0.12 meter to control the two vehicles to dock in low gravity. China has never tried such test and could not simulate it on the ground.
After two docking tests with the Shenzhou-8, the Tiangong-1 will await Shenzhou-9, to be followed by Shenzhou-10, which will possibly carry a female astronaut, in the next two years, according to the plan for China’s manned space program.
If the astronaut in the Shenzhou-10 mission succeeds with the manual space docking, China will become the third nation after the United States and Russia to master the technology.
President Hu Jintao watched the launch from the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center on Thursday, two days before China’s National Day, witnessing the latest endeavor of China’s manned space program since 1992.
Hu told the engineers, commanders and other workers at the control center to do every job in a “more aborative and meticulous” manner to ensure the success of the country’s first space docking mission.
Other members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, including Wu Bangguo, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang and Zhou Yongkang, were also present.
Premier Wen Jiabao went to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to watch the launch process with He Guoqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.
Chinese people were inspired by the successful launch.
“The Tiangong-1 has gone into the dark sky! We Chinese are on the way to inhabiting the vast universe,” wrote Qichaoxiguanghai on Sina Weibo, China’s most popular microblog service provider.
“I heard the news of the Tiangong-1′s launch from the radio on a ship to Yangzhou,” wrote microblogger Xingfufeiafei. “I am proud to share the pride that shakes the world. The pride of our nation is once again deep in my heart.”
THREE PHASES
With a room of 15 cubic meters for two to three astronauts to conduct research and experiments in the future, China’s first space lab module is hardly the size of any palace.
But its name Tiangong-1, or “Heavenly Palace-1,” speaks of a dream home from Chinese folklore, long envisioned as a secret place where deities reside.
Thanks to an economic boom that has continued since the end of the 1970s, the Chinese government approved and began carrying out its three-phase manned space program in January 1992.
The first phase, to send the first astronaut to space and return safely, was fulfilled by Yang Liwei in the Shenzhou-5 mission in 2003. After another two astronauts made successful extravehicular activities in the Shenzhou-7 mission in 2008, China entered the second phase of its space program: space docking.
If the previous two steps succeed, China plans to develop and launch multiple space modules, with a goal of assembling a 60-tonne manned space station around 2020 in which Chinese astronauts will start more research projects in space.
Premier Wen said at the launch center that the breakthrough in and command of space docking technology marks a significant step forward in China’s “three-phase” manned space program.
He encouraged all the participants in the program to do a good job to “win the vital battle of space docking.”
The success of Thursday’s launch of the Tiangong-1 also eased the pressure on China’s space engineers following an unsuccessful lift-off in August when a Long March-2C rocket malfunctioned and failed to send an experimental satellite into orbit.
To acquire a new and bigger rocket capable of loading a future space station’s components that will be much heavier than the Tiangong-1, research and development on a carrier rocket that burns more environmentally-friendly liquid-oxygen-kerosene fuels is in progress.
The Long March-5 and -7 carrier rockets with a payload to low Earth orbit of more than 20 tonnes will take test flight as early as 2014, said Song Zhengyu, deputy chief designer of rocket for China’s manned space program.
China’s progress in space technology is stunning. The Tiangong-1 will dock three spacecraft one after another, which will cost less time and money than docking experiments the U.S. and Russia did.
The space station now still functional is the International Space Station (ISS) initiated by the United States and Russia, which cooperate with other 14 nations at about 360 kilometers above the earth.
However, as the U.S. ended its space shuttle program after the Atlantis’ last mission in July, the ISS is scheduled to be plunged into the ocean at the end of its life cycle around 2020, when China is expected to start its era of space station.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION PLATFORM
Zhang Shancong, deputy chief designer of the Tiangong-1, told Xinhua that the module carries special cameras which will take hyperspectral images of China’s vast farmlands to detect heavy metal pollution and pesticide residue as well as plant disease.
Moreover, scientists on the ground will also conduct experiments on photonic crystal, a new material expected to revolutionize information technology, in the low-gravity environment inside the Tiangong-1 as these experiments would be extremely difficult to conduct on the earth’s surface.
“China is clearly becoming a global power and its investments in areas like technology and exploration reflect this,” said Peter Singer, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution.
“It is a natural result of the growth in political and economic power and is to be expected,” Singer said in an interview with Xinhua conducted via email.
“What remains at question is what kind of presence China will play on the international stage, cooperative, working with international partners, or going it alone?” Singer said.
The scholar, however, can find an answer to his question from the words of Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China’s manned space program.
Zhou told Xinhua that China will turn its future space station into an international platform for space research and application to share space achievements with partners.
“The Chinese nation has pursued peace since ancient times,” Zhou said. “China’s ultimate intention with the space program is to explore space resources and make use of them for mankind’s well-being.”
According to Wu Ping, a spokesperson with China’s manned space program, scientists from China and Germany will jointly carry out experiments on space life science at the Shenzhou-8 spacecraft.
A U.S. astronaut on the Atlantis’s final mission has said China’s first experimental space station will be a welcome addition to the international brotherhood.
“China being in space I think is a great thing. The more nations that get into space, the better cooperation we’ll have with each,” astronaut Rex Walheim said during an interview with Reuters.
So far China’s Long March rocket series has successfully sent more than 20 satellites into space for the United States, Australia, Pakistan and other countries and regions.
One Chinese scientist and five international peers have also participated in Russia’s Mars-500 Program, a ground-based experiment simulating a manned expedition to Mars.
JIUQUAN, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) — China is working on the development of a new generation of carrier rockets featuring a larger thrust to cater to the demand of building a space station, a chief rocket engineer said Thursday.
“The building of a space station requires carrier rockets with greater thrust as each capsule of the station will weigh about 20 tonnes,” said Jing Muchun, chief engineer for the carrier rocket system of China’s manned space program.
“We have been preparing for the launch of the space station slated for 2020,” Jing told Xinhua.
The Tiangong-1, China’s first space lab module, was launched into space by the Long March-2FT1 carrier rocket on Thursday evening, paving the way for a future space station.
A Long March-2FT1 carrier rocket loaded with Tiangong-1 unmanned space lab module blasts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China’s Gansu Province, Sept. 29, 2011. (Xinhua/Wang Jianmin)
Jing’s deputy, Song Zhengyu, said the new generation of carrier rockets, represented by the digital and poison- and pollution-free Long March-5 and Long March-7, are expected to make their first lift-offs around 2014.
Song said the technologies applied to the new generation of carrier rockets will mature by 2021 and the existing Long March-2, -3 and -4 series will be replaced sequentially.
China started developing modern carrier rockets in 1956, and the Long March rocket series has become the mainstream carriers for launching China’s satellites.
The Long March rockets currently fall into four categories, namely Long March-1, -2, -3 and -4.
China Launches 1st Space Lab Module Into Orbit for Docking Tests
by Denise Chow, SPACE.com Staff Writer
China launches the Tiangong-1 space lab module Sept. 29, 2011 atop a Chinese Long March 2F rocket from the Gobi desert.
CREDIT: CCTV View full size image
China successfully launched its first space lab module into orbit in an impressive nighttime display today (Sept. 29).
The unmanned Tiangong 1 module lifted off on a Chinese Long March 2F rocket at 9:16 p.m. Local Time (1316 GMT/9:16 a.m. EDT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The spacecraft launched just days before China’s National Day holiday, which occurs Saturday (Oct. 1).
“It’s absolutely an accomplishment,” said Victoria Samson of the Secure World Foundation, an organization dedicated to the peaceful use of outer space. However, Samson, director of the foundation’s Washington office, added that the launch of Tiangong 1 represents an achievement that other countries, including the United States, managed decades ago. [Photos: China Launches First Space Lab, Tiangong 1]
“They’re doing their version of Spacelab, but that’s something we did back in the ’70s,” she said.
The Tiangong 1 module, which is expected to remain in orbit for two years, is considered an important steppingstone in the country’s effort to construct its own crewed space station. The prototype space lab measures 34 feet (10.4 meters) long and 11 feet (3.35 meters) wide and weighed about 8.5 metric tons on Earth.
This artist’s illustration from a China space agency video shows the Tiangong 1 space laboratory, a prototype module for the country’s planned space station.
CREDIT: China Manned Space Engineering Office
“The main tasks of [the] Tiangong 1 spaceflight include: to provide a target vehicle for space rendezvous and docking experiment; to primarily establish a manned space test platform capable of long-term unmanned operation in space with temporary human attendance, and thus accumulate experiences for the development of the space station; to carry out space science experiments, space medical experiments and space technology experiments,” China’s Manned Space Engineering office spokeswoman Wu Ping told reporters yesterday (Sept. 28) at the launch site, according to a translation provided by the office. [Gallery: Tiangong 1, China's First Space Laboratory]
Tiangong 1, which translates to “Heavenly Palace,” will test docking technology in conjunction with three spacecraft — Shenzhou 8, Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10 — that will be launched at a later date, according to state media reports. These planned robotic maneuvers will be China’s first dockings in orbit.
The Shenzhou 8 spacecraft will launch in early November, with Shenzhou 9 to follow in 2012. Both flights will be unmanned docking trials. The Shenzhou 10 mission, also in 2012, may carry a crew to Tiangong 1, a team that could also include China’s first female astronaut, Chinese space officials said.
A Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft closes in on the country’s Tiangong 1 space lab in this still from a mission profile video.
CREDIT: China Manned Space Engineering Office
Tiangong 1 is also carrying medical and engineering experiments into space, according to state media. It is packed with 300 flags from the International Astronautical Federation, to commemorate the mission.
While Chinese space officials have indicated that the launch of Shenzhou 8 could occur in early November, but it’s possible the unmanned mission could lift off sooner, said Dean Cheng, a research fellow on Chinese political and security affairs at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative public policy think tank.
“The Chinese have put up launches within days of each other,” Cheng told SPACE.com. “But we don’t have a good indication as to exactly when it will go up.”
The launch of Tiangong 1 is considered a milestone for China and its burgeoning space program. It is particularly important for China’s space program after last month’s failure of a Long March 2C rocket, which malfunctioned shortly after liftoff and did not reach orbit. [Related: US & China: Space Race or Cosmic Cooperation?]
“It’s probably going to be a big deal in China, with lots of news coverage,” Cheng said. “You’d probably have to make an effort to avoid it. Once this is launched, you are going to have just a huge amount of hoopla from the state-run media to remind the people of what is going on.”
An investigation into the Long March 2C malfunction delayed plans to launch Tiangong 1. Today’s successful launch using a similar booster, the Long March 2F, marks an important step toward fulfilling the country’s goal of building a 60-ton manned space station by the year 2020. [Infographic: How China's First Space Station Will Work]
China is only the third nation, after the United States and Russia, to independently launch humans into orbit. China’s first manned mission, Shenzhou 5, was piloted by Yang Liwei on Oct. 15, 2003. Two more manned missions followed, in 2005 and 2008.
You can follow SPACE.com staff writer Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow. SPACE.com senior writer Clara Moskowitz (@ClaraMoskowitz) contributed to this report. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
This artist’s illustration from a China space agency video shows the Tiangong 1 space laboratory, a prototype module for the country’s planned space station.
CREDIT: China Manned Space Engineering Office
China is launching its first space laboratory module Tiangong 1 today (Sept. 29) on a critical test flight to demonstrate the vital docking technology required for a future space station.
The Tiangong 1 space lab will serve as a space station module prototype for China, which is the third country (after Russia and the United States) to develop the capability to launch astronauts into space and return them safely to Earth.
Here are some basic questions and answers about China’s first space laboratory:
What is China’s Tiangong 1?
The Tiangong 1 module is China’s first spacecraft designed for orbital docking tests and space research. It’s name translates to “Heavenly Palace” in English. The module is a prototype for a planned space station, which China plans to build in orbit as part of its human spaceflight program. China’s plan currently is to build a 60-ton space station by 2020. [Gallery: Tiangong 1, China's First Space Laboratory]
Why is the Tiangong 1 mission important for China?
China has been taking a stepping stone approach to human spaceflight that began with the 2003 launch of Yang Liwei, China’s first astronaut. In 2005, China launched its second human spaceflight, a two-person mission, in 2005. A three-person flight followed in 2008, a mission that included China’s first spacewalk.
The Tiangong 1 mission will mark China’s first attempt to dock two spacecraft together, a vital skill that will be needed to build a large space station in orbit.
This image depicts a full crew of three astronauts inside China’s first space laboratory, the Tiangong 1.
CREDIT: China Manned Space Engineering Office
Tiangong 1 is a cylindrical spacecraft that is about 34 feet (10.4 meters) long and 11 feet (3.4 m) wide. The space laboratory weighs about 8.5 metric tons, or about 9.4 short tons (U.S.).
The Chinese space station prototype consists of two major segments: the experiment module and a resource module.
The experiment module is the primary work and living area for visiting astronauts. It is powered by two solar arrays and serves as the docking point for arriving Shenzhou spacecraft. According to a mission overview video, the laboratory can be left unmanned or host visiting crews of up to three astronauts.
The solar arrays are attached to the Tiangong 1 resource module, which also contains the propellant tanks and rocket engines for the spacecraft.
China’s Tiangong 1 spacecraft and Long March 2F rocket is pictured at the launch site after being transferred from a facility at the Jiuquan Satellite Launching Center.
CREDIT: China Manned Space Engineering
China will use a special version of its Long March 2F rocket to launch the space laboratory. The rocket, called a Long March 2F T1, is a modified version of the booster China uses to launch its crewed Shenzhou spacecraft. It does not have a launch escape system (since Tiangong 1 is launching unmanned) and includes a custom fairing and an improved rocket booster structure in order to increase its lift capacity, Chinese space officials said.
The Long March 2F T1 rocket is about 170 feet (52 meters) tall and can launch payloads of up to 8.6 metric tons into space. It weighs about 493 metric tons at liftoff. It will launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China.
When will the first docking at Tiangong 1 occur?
China currently plans to launch its first Shenzhou spacecraft to Tiangong 1 in early November. That mission, Shenzhou 8, will be unmanned. The mission is expected to last at least 12 days and include two docking demonstrations. [Infographic: How China's First Space Station Will Work]
If that first mission is successful, at least two more flights (Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10) are planned in 2012. The Shenzhou 10 mission may carry the first crew to the Tiangong 1, and may include China’s first female astronaut, according to state media reports.
A Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft closes in on the country’s Tiangong 1 space lab in this still from a mission profile video.
CREDIT: China Manned Space Engineering Office
The Tiangong 1 module will initially launch into a 217-mile (350-kilometer) orbit around Earth, which will require two maneuvers by the spacecraft after liftoff in order to reach the planned flight path. While in this orbit, the spacecraft will be put through several systems tests.
If all goes well, the Tiangong 1 will be lowered to an orbit of about 213 miles (343 km) in order to meet the Shenzhou 8 spacecraft in November. At the end of that mission, the space lab will return to the higher orbit to await the next visiting Shenzhou spacecraft.
Where is the Tiangong 1 space laboratory controlled from?
The Tiangong 1 mission will be controlled by flight controllers at the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, the Mission Control for China’s human spaceflight program.
China plans to dispose of the Tiangong 1 space laboratory by commanding it to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere at the end of a two-year mission.
CREDIT: China Manned Space Engineering Office
How long can the Tiangong 1 spacecraft stay in space?
Currently, China plans to keep the Tiangong 1 module in orbit for about two years, after which the spacecraft will be commanded to destroy itself by burning up in Earth’s atmosphere, according to a mission profile video.
You can follow SPACE.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter @tariqjmalik. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
China is readying the rocket that will carry the country’s first prototype space laboratory into orbit Thursday (Sept. 29).
Officials at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China have fueled the Chinese Long March 2FT1 rocket that will blast the unmanned Tiangong 1 module into space. The launch is slated to occur between 9:16 p.m. and 9:31 p.m. local time at the launch site (Thursday morning in the United States), according to state media reports.
Tiangong 1, which means “Heavenly Palace” in Chinese, will test docking technology with the country’s Shenzhou spacecraft during a series of test flights over the next two years. [Photos: China's First Space Station]
The space lab module is 8.5 metric tons (9.4 short tons), and is 34 feet (10.4 meters) long and 11 feet (3.35 m) wide. Tiangong 1 is designed to spend two years in space before its mission is complete, Chinese space officials said.
“All the preparatory works before launching are finished,” China’s Manned Space Engineering office spokeswomanWu Ping told reporters at the launch site, according to a translation provided by the office.
The prototype was originally set to liftoff earlier this week, but a forecasted cold weather front forced mission controllers to push the targeted launch date, according to state media reports.
China’s Tiangong 1 spacecraft and Long March 2F rocket is pictured at the launch site after being transferred from a facility at the Jiuquan Satellite Launching Center.
CREDIT: China Manned Space Engineering View full size image
China‘s space launch rally
China is expected to launch three additional spacecraft at a later time to connect with Tiangong 1 in space. The unmanned Shenzhou 8 mission is due to launch in early November to conduct the first docking tests between two Chinese spacecraft. The country then plans to launch the Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10 to robotically attach to the Tiangong 1 module.
“The main tasks of [the] Tiangong 1 spaceflight include: to provide a target vehicle for space rendezvous and docking experiment; to primarily establish a manned space test platform capable of long-term unmanned operation in space with temporary human attendance, and thus accumulate experiences for the development of the space station; to carry out space science experiments, space medical experiments and space technology experiments,” Wu said. Tiangong-1 space module to launch Thursday CCTV News – CNTV English
“It’s a big deal at several levels,” said Dean Cheng, a research fellow on Chinese political and security affairs at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative public policy think tank. “If all goes according to plan this will be China’s initial effort at docking, and of course docking is one of those sin qua nons for more prolonged exploration of space. They have to get this skill set down.”
China had originally planned to launch the space lab module earlier, but last month, a Long March 2C rocket, which is similar to Tiangong 1′s Long March 2F booster, malfunctioned shortly after liftoff and failed to reach orbit. Chinese officials temporarily halted plans for Tiangong 1 as they investigated the accident, which resulted in the loss of an experimental satellite.
Take a look at how China’s first space station, called Tiangong (“Heavenly Palace”) will be assembled in orbit in this SPACE.com infographic.
CREDIT: Karl Tate/SPACE.com View full size image
China‘s growing space program
The launch of China’s first space lab test module is considered an important milestone for the country and its growing space program. Chinese officials have voiced their intent to build a 60-ton manned space station by the year 2020. [Infographic: How China's First Space Station Will Work]
In addition to acting as an important test bed for these space station aspirations, Tiangong 1 will also carry medical and engineering experiments into space.
China is only the third nation to independently launch humans into orbit, after the United States and Russia. The nation’s first manned mission, Shenzhou 5, was piloted by Yang Liwei on Oct. 15, 2003. Liwei’s 21-hour mission was followed by two more manned missions in 2005 and 2008.
You can follow SPACE.com staff writer Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow. SPACE.com senior writer Clara Moskowitz (@ClaraMoskowitz) contributed to this report. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
Rehearsal for Tiangong-1 launch comprehensive and successful
On the afternoon of September 25, all participants of the “Tiangong-1” mission completed a joint rehearsal at the launching site. The results showed that the launch conditions were ripe with smooth commanding within all systems and units, proper technical conditions and devices in sound operation.
The combined launcher-rocket of the “Tiangong-1” target spacecraft was transported to the launching site on the morning of September 20, and then function test was conducted on the launcher and the target spacecraft in addition to interface matching check, joint check upon locations of the launcher and the rocket, joint drill, and electromagnetic compatibility testing. The comprehensive joint rehearsal at the launching site conducted on September 25 was a comprehensive simulation drill according to the launching procedures which verified the working status of major systems.
At 14:30, the joint rehearsal entered the 3-hour countdown under the unified command of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center. The “Tiangong-1” target spacecraft will receive comprehensive quality review on all of its systems and complete fuel filling in the next few days.
A Chinese manned submersible sets sail Sunday for the Mariana Trench in the western pacific. In a few days, it will dive 7,000 meters, hopefully setting a new record for deep-sea dives.
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A Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft closes in on the country’s Tiangong 1 space lab in this still from a mission profile video.
