13 September 2021
The 3 topics of this week's reporting by Blaine Curcio and Jean Deville are:1) Chinese smartphones and satellite connectivity; 2) a summary of the several provincial space policies and 3) an overview on the two space launches of last week.
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RELATED: Dongfang Hour: 18 months and 50 consecutive episodes later....
12 September 2021
How hard is it to report about China's space activities? What is the most interesting aspect of it and what keeps Blaine Curcio and Jean Deville going?
To celebrate the 18 months and the 50 consecutive videos of Dongfang Hour, the two space experts decided to make a special episode to discuss the channel itself.
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10 September 2021
Space in Africa reported that as an outcome of an MoU from November 2020 between the Botswana’s Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism and China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the design of the Botswana Meteorological Satellite Transportable Ground System (BMTGS) was completed. The ground station will be able to track a number of meteorological satellites and can receive its data. The components of the BMTGS will be delivered by Chinese company Space Star Technology Co., Ltd (SSTC).
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10 September 2021
"Since its formal commission in July 2020, BDS-3 has maintained steady operation and top-class service performance," said Chen Gucang, Deputy Director of the China Satellite Navigation Office at a news conference on 8 September. Aside from standard navigation, positioning and timing service, the system also offers global and regional short message communication, international search-and-rescue, precise point positioning, satellite based augmentation and ground-based augmentation services, Chen said. In terms of global and regional SMS services, Chen said trials for global SMS service are underway, adding that there are plans to roll out smartphones with built-in regional SMS functions by the end of 2021. China will continue to promote the international development and application of BDS-3
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10 September 2021
China successfully launched on board a Long March-3B the new direct broadcast satellite Zhongxing 9B from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre on 9 September at 19:50 BJT. The new satellite is designed to run for 15 years and will be operated by the China Satellite Communications Co., Ltd., said the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
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