[December 25, 1999] Military Space Research
Center Formed PLA Daily reported today that China has formed a
military space research center in PLA's Arm and Command
Technologies College. The center will study military
space technologies including space launch commanding and
space war. It has various space simulation facilities.
[December 17, 1999] Shenzhou Service Module Made
in Shanghai Shanghai Youth Newspaper reveals that
Shanghai Academy of Space Technology is resposible for
development of the Shenzhou service module. The module is
equipped with four engines used for orbit insertion,
manoeuvre and re-entry. Total thrust of these engines is
about one ton. The newspaper quoted Shi Jingmiao, one of
major designers of Shenzhou, as saying the mission is so
successful that no backup systems on the spaceship was
used.
[December 17, 1999] Cox Report Conclusions
"Unwarranted" The Cox report on Chinese espionage that set off
a political furor this year contained significant factual
errors, "inflammatory" language and
"unwarranted" conclusions, according to a
point-by-point rebuttal issued by five experts at
Stanford University. Some "important and relevant
facts [in the Cox report] are wrong and a number of
conclusions are, in our view, unwarranted," says the
99-page analysis by Stanford scholars coordinated by May,
a former director of the Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory. The standford Report referenced the editor of
this site for indicating mistakes in space section of the
Cox Report.
[December 15, 1999] China Has No Shuttle Program "As I known, there is no a shuttle program
in China," said Liu Jiyuan, former president of
China Aerospace Corporation(CASC), on a scientific
conference. "Currently the formal shuttle project
has not started", he added. When asked about future
Shenzhou flights, he answered that schedule of the first
manned flight depends on results of unmanned tests, and
there are also no animal flights planned. (China Youth)
[December 15, 1999] ChinaSat Increased Its Stake
in APT Satellite ChinaSat acquired one-seventh interest in APT
Satellite International Company Limited from CLTC(China
Satellite Launch & Tracking Control General), which
was one of the seven shareholders of APT International
prior to the Acquisition. APT International is currently
holding 51% of the issued share capital of the Company.
Upon completion of the Acquisition, ChinaSat increased
its shareholding in APT International from one-seventh
interest to two-seventh interest and CLTC no longer has
any shareholding in APT International. ChinaSat(China
Telecommunications Broadcast Satellite Corporation) is a
PRC state-owned enterprise under the supervision of the
Ministry of Information Industry. (APT)
[December 12, 1999] Hainan Spaceport in Detail China is considering to build its fourth
spaceport in Hainan. According to the proposal released
by Hainan
New Century International Commercail Space Ltd, the
spaceport will be located in Wenchang, northeast of the
island, 70km away from Haikou, the capital of Hainan. The
launch site is 3km away from the seashore. There are two
small islands, 35km and 70km east from the site, one of
which could be a tracking station. The 40 billion Yuan
project consists of a launch complex, a Tourists Center
and a High Tech Industrial Park. The launch complex that
includes two launch pads and other facilities costs about
30 billion Yuan and occupies 10 kilometer squares. But
only one launch pad, to be used by CZ-2E and 3 for a rate
of 4-5 launches per year, will be built in Phase 1. The
proposal also includes a vertical assembly building
similar to that in Jiuquan. The spaceport will run on
commercial basis and plans to involve foreign
investments. (investors please contact [email protected])
[December 12, 1999] Chuang Xing 1 Targets 2001
Launch Chuang Xing 1 (CX-1, Creation 1) is a mini
"store and relay" communication satellite
developed by CAS (China Academy of Science). Shanghai
Academy of Space Technology and Shanghai Telecomm are
also involved in the project. The environmental test
model of CX-1 was completed recently. The flight model
will be finished in 2001 and launched as a piggyback
payload by Long March. (SAST)
[December 12, 1999] Yuan Wang Backs Home Four Yuan Wang tracking ships have returned to
China in early December after the successful Shenzhou
flight. Yuan Wang 1 and 2 are in Huangshan Port at
Yangtze River while Yuan Wang 4 is in Hainan for a short
stay.
[December 12, 1999] Commercial Space on Shenzhou Suzhou Space Breeding Center, a joint venture by
Suzhou Vegatable Research Institite and a subsidiary of
CAST(China Academy of Space Technology, main contractor
of Shenzhou), recently received 500 kilograms of
vegetable seeds that travelled with Shenzhou. Space
environment can produce new plant breeds, which has been
proven by experiences on China's recoverable satellites.
Seeds of new vegetable species produced from the Shenzhou
flight will be sold on the market. The Center reveals
that the cost of space seeds is about the price of gold
at same weight. (SAST)
[December 9, 1999] Chinese President Visits Qian
Xuesen On December 8, Chinese President Jiang Zemin
visited Qian Xuesen, a famous scientist who has
contributed much to the country's cause of science and
technology. Qian is one of the pioneers of China's space
science. A world- famous expert on aerospace rockets and
aerodynamics, Qian has made outstanding contributions to
the development of science and technology in China, space
technology in particular. During the meeting, the Chinese
president and Qian shared a lively chat on the trial
flight of the Shenzhou spacecraft and the new
developments in China's science and technology. Qian, who
is about to celebrate his 88th birthday, agreed, and made
some suggestions on the further developments of science
and technology, and national defense. (People's Daily)
[December
8, 1999] Model Tells More Detail People's Liberation Army Hong Kong troop just
received two models of CZ-2F and Shenzhou from Chinese
space industry. There is the 2nd pair of solar panels
that could be seen clearly from a photo. Size of two
pairs of panels are aslo shown in the photo. Other
reports say that a 1:3 model of Shenzhou, one of only two
in China, will be transported to Guangzhou for exhibition
in mid December. (China Space News, Sina.com)
[December 6, 1999] Fenghuo-1 Launch Likely in
Months China Space News, an official Chinese space
newspaper, reported that a new rocket was transported to
the Xichang Launch Center in end of November for a
upcomimg space launch. The report did not reveal any
information on the satellite to be launched but
unconfirmed messages on Internet indicate the
Fenghou-1(FH-1) satellite has arrived in Xichang. China
announced the Fenghuo-1 launch early this year. Official
reports describe FH-1 as a "communication
satellite" and will be launched on top of a CZ-3A by
end of 1999. It name, the messaging system(or early
warning system) used by ancient Chinese army on the Great
Wall, implies the satellite's possible military uses.
[December 6, 1999] ISU Visits China Representatives from the International Space
University(ISU) visited China and met with directors of
two space groups(China Space Science and Technology
Corporation and China Space Machinery and Electrical
Corporation) on December 2. Co-operation between Chinese
space industry and ISU was discussed. During the meeting,
two directors promised to support ISU's activities in
China. ISU is a non-profitable educational organisation
located in Strasbourg, France. (China Space News)
[December 4, 1999] Shenzhou Re-entry Capsule
Larger than Soyuz Yanzhao Evening News, a local Chinese newspaper,
revealed more details of the Shenzhou flight. It says the
re-entry capsule of Shenzhou is 2.5m in diameter and 2.5m
in height. In contrast, Soyuz re-entry capsule is
2.2mx2.2m. The report mentions China used a tracking
station in Karachi during the Shenzhou launch.
[December 3, 1999] Qi Talks About Shenzhou and
Soyuz Qi Faren, the chief designer of Shenzhou, said
in an interview by Yazhou Zhoukan, a Hong Kong based
magazine, that Shenzhou is "absolutely"
different from the Russian Soyuz, and even better than
it. Qi admitted that Russia had suggested to offer a
manned spacecraft design several years ago. But China has
already a better design that time. The magazine reveals
that the Shenzhou spaceship is 8.8m in length, 2.8m in
diameter and weighs 7.6 tonnes.
[December 3, 1999] Shenzhou Orbital Module Has
Decayed There are 5 objects had been tracked for the
Shenzou launch. The re-entry module(1999-61A) returned at
19:41 GMT on November 20. Two pieces of debris(61C and
61D), most likely parts of the shroud, dacayed on
November 21. The orbital module(61E) stayed in orbit
until November 27. The last object(61B) is the second
stage of CZ-2F that decayed on December 1. Orbital data
show that Shenzhou did not perform any orbital
manoeuvres, which means it is a nice, gentle test flight!
(source: Phillip Clark)