31 December 2018
If it’s successful, it’ll be a significant achievement for China’s space program, given the technical complexity involved, from the landing itself, to the maintaining communication with the spacecraft. “This [would be] the first time that the Chinese space program has done something that no other country has done before,” said Brian Harvey, author of China In Space, a 2013 history of China’s space program.”Up to now, China has largely matched US and USSR achievements - not for the sake of doing so - but because they are necessary steps in building a space program. This is quite new.”
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30 December 2018
China's Chang'e 4 probe entered a planned orbit in the morning of 30 December to prepare for the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the Moon, China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced. The probe has entered an elliptical lunar orbit, with the perilune at about 15 km and the apolune at about 100 km, at 8:55 a.m. Beijing Time, said CNSA. Since Chang'e 4 entered the lunar orbit on 12 December, the ground control center in Beijing has trimmed the probe's orbit twice and tested the communication link between the probe and the relay satellite Queqiao which is operating in the halo orbit around the second Lagrangian (L2) point of the Earth-Moon system.
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Animation of the orbital manoeuvre and landing on CCTV
29 December 2018
China successfully sent six atmospheric environment research satellites and a test communication satellite into orbit on 29 December. They were launched by a Long March 2D rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 4:00 p.m. The six Yunhai 2 satellites will be used to study atmospheric environment, monitor space environment, prevent and reduce disasters and conduct scientific experiments.
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28 December 2018
While commercialization has become a common noun in a world that's being propelled by business innovation, its usage in the space sector remains something new, which is especially true with China's space missions. In an exclusive interview with Global Times reporter Li Qiaoyi (GT) earlier in December in Zhuhai, Yang Yiqiang (Yang), the first commander-in-chief of the Long March 11 solid-fuel carrier rockets project, described policy priorities and to-do lists toward turning China into a major space power.
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29 December 2018
Tang Yagang, President of Chinarocket Co., Ltd. under CASC, explains that its company plans to develop two types of rockets for commercial purposes - the Jielong series and the Tenglong series. The Jielong (Smart Dragon) No. 1 Solid Propellant Launch Vehicle, will make its first commercial mission in the first half of 2019. Tang said to CCTV: "The Jielong series are mainly solid propellant rockets which rely less on the launch facilities and are flexible and the Tenglong series are mainly liquid propellant rockets with a large payload capacity. To reduce the cost of entering the orbit, we must give priority to liquid propellant rockets." Tang added they are exploring the technology of reusable rockets and they expect it to be put into use in the next two to three years.
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27 December 2018
China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) has started to provide global service, said BDS Spokesperson Ran Chengqi on 25 December. At a press conference of the State Council Information Office, Ran said the construction of the BDS-3 primary system had been completed. "This signifies that BDS has officially entered the global era as the BDS expands from a regional system to a global navigation system," Ran said. "From now on, no matter where you go, BDS will always be with you," said Ran.
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China's BeiDou officially goes global
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