09 August 2017
Over the 50 years since its founding, the Xi'an Satellite Control Center has successfully resolved major faults in over 10 satellites, saving the country billions yuan in possible losses, the center said on 9 August. Founded in 1967, the centre is tasked with routine telemetry, orbit control and breakdown diagnosis and maintenance of satellites. The centre also sent the communications satellite Zhongxing-9A into correct orbit, after it had failed to enter its preset orbit after launch on 19 June this year.
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09 August 2017
The multi-parameter WET Sensor by Cambridge based Delta-T Devices Ltd was used by Chinese astronauts aboard the Tiangong 2 space laboratory.
Two Chinese astronauts, Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong, spent 30 days aboard the Tiangong 2 space lab carrying out numerous experiments, one of which was to cultivate lettuce plants within the weightless atmosphere. The WET Sensor played a key role in the space lab experiment, providing frequent accurate data on substrate moisture, temperature and pore water conductivity. This information allowed the astronauts to precisely assess growing conditions (including nutrient values) on a regular basis. The experiment was a success
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10 August 2017
Chinese scientists have become the first to realize quantum key distribution from a satellite to the ground, laying the foundation for building a hack-proof global quantum communication network. The achievement based on experiments conducted with the world's first quantum satellite, Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS), was published in the authoritative academic journal Nature on 10 August. The Nature reviewers commented that the experiment was an impressive achievement, and constituted a milestone in the field.
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06 August 2017
China is struggling to find a foreign applicant to run the world’s largest radio telescope, which is odd considering they’re offering to pay them more than $1.2 million for their troubles.
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07 August 2017
Since mid-March CMSA is publishing Tiangong 1 Target Vehicle Orbital Status Weekly Reports.
As Leonard David wrote on 5 August on internet portal Space.com, the latest predictions for Tiangong 1's uncontrolled re-entry point to January 2018.
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06 August 2017
Professor Sir Keith Burnett, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield, spent three days in the country where he met with fellow academics and government representatives. The university already has close links with a number of Chinese institutions, including universities in Beijing and Nanjing. Its Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre is currently working on projects with the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, which is responsible for the Chinese space programme. “I am really delighted to see the way our university’s partnerships are growing in China with the country’s most highly-regarded universities and with industry,” Prof. Burnett said.
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