21 August 2018
Beijing-based private space company LandSpace completed the final assembly of its solid propellant rocket on 20 August for a scheduled fourth-quarter launch, which will be the first Chinese private-sector commercial rocket to go into orbit. The proprietary three-stage solid propellant rocket by LandSpace, named Zhuque-1, is 19 meters tall with a 1.35-meter diameter and a takeoff mass of 27 metric tons and thrust of 45 tons. It will carry a small China Central Television satellite for space science and remote sensing for a state broadcaster, said the company.
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21 August 2018
A ginger-root-shaped asteroid named Toutatis, which poses a potential threat to earth, might have formed from the merger of two smaller asteroids, say researchers from China and the United States. China's second lunar probe, Chang'e-2, rendezvoused with Toutatis on 13 December 2012, at a distance of 770 meters with a relative velocity of 10.73 km per second. It was the world's first close fly-by observation of Toutatis. The probe took high-resolution images providing a number of discoveries.
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22 August 2018
China has developed a high accuracy four-meter-aperture optical mirror, an important tool for deep space and astronomical observation. Developed by Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics, and Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the silicon carbide aspheric optical mirror measures 1.6 tonnes. The silicon carbide used in production provides more stability to the surface of the mirror, allowing for greater accuracy at 20 nanometers.
In addition to the mirror, the research group also developed the manufacturing equipment used for the mirror's production and owns the IP rights for the equipment.
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16 August 2018
The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT), a major manufacturer of the Long March series rockets, has announced it has spare capacity on seven rockets offering launch services for commercial satellites. The first will be at the end of this year. China's Long March-5, the country's largest carrier rocket, still has a weight vacancy of 100 kg, and can carry payloads to a geostationary transfer orbit with a perigee at 200 km and apogee at 40,000 km.
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17 August 2018
Chinese researchers have successfully completed the first test of the propulsion system for the experiment module of the country's planned space station. The test consisted of eight procedures that covered all working conditions of an in-orbit experiment module. It also simulated possible errors the module may encounter in space, according to a research institute affiliated with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
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15 August 2018
China's Moon lander and rover for the Chang'e 4 lunar probe, which is expected to land on the far side of the Moon this year, was unveiled on 15 August.
Images displayed at 15 August's press conference showed the rover was a rectangular box with two foldable solar panels and six wheels. It is 1.5 meters long, 1 meter wide and 1.1 meters high. Wu Weiren, the Chief Designer of China's lunar probe programme, said the Chang'e 4 rover largely kept the shape and conditions of its predecessor, Yutu (Jade Rabbit), China's first lunar rover for the Chang'e 3 lunar probe in 2013.
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