China launched Jilin 1-Gaofen 02D satellite
27 September 2021
China sent the Jilin 1-Gaofen 02D satellite into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China at 14:19 BJT. It was launched by a Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket and entered the planned orbit successfully. This launch marked the 11th mission for the Kuaizhou series carrier rockets.
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CHASE Solar Observatory readied for launch
27 September 2021
Wang Wei, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Institute of Satellite Engineering at the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, and Project Manager of the CHASE satellite (Chinese H-Alpha Solar Explorer), told China Daily on 26 September that the spacecraft is scheduled to be put into orbit from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province around mid-October. The 550-kg satellite is designed to maintain a 520 km SSO for at least 3 years, and it will be China's 1st space-based solar telescope.
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China unveils gravitational-wave research center in Guangdong
27 September 2021
A gravitational-wave research centre under the China National Space Administration (CNSA) was inaugurated on 26 September in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province. It is located at the Zhuhai Campus of Sun Yat-sen University. The centre will develop a series of experimental satellite platforms and payloads to promote China's space gravitational-wave detection. The establishment of the research centre is a boost for the Tianqin programme, initiated by Sun Yat-sen University in 2015 and aiming at the detection of gravitational waves. The Tianqin 1 satellite was launched in December 2019. Two more satellites will follow until 2035.
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"As long as there is a 50 % chance - I am in!"
18 September 2021
CGTN presents an English-language documentary on the history and development of China's manned space programme - from the beginning. The documentary starts with interviewing Yang Liwei who admits that he was prepared to not survive his space mission. Very frankly he tell the reporter about the joke among taikonauts at that time: "As long as there is a 50 % chance - I am in!", meaning that everybody would have done this flight if he was selected for that mission. And indeed, Yang talks about the cracks in the windows during re-entry... and there was also the issue with the fire alarm during China's first EVA. A highly recommended documentary!
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short cut to the episode with Yang Liwei: What terrified the first taikonaut?