[October 29, 1999] ZY-1 Image Released National Space Research Institute of
Brazil (INPE) released the image reveived from the newly
launched ZY-1 (CBERS-1) satellite. It is taken by the
Wide Field Imager (WFI) onbaord the ZY-1. The picture was
gotten in October 21, and recovers a area of 300x300
kilometers in the southwest of the state of Amazon. ZY-1
works well. But Brasil's SACI-1 satellite lost the
contact shortly after the launch. (photo credit: INPE)
[October 29, 1999] Astrium to Win Rocsat-2
Contract The new Astrium
space company comprising Matra Marconi Space, DASA and
space elements of Aerospatiale is set to win the contract
to build Taiwan's second Rocsat to be launched in 2003.
The first Rocsat was built by TRW. The Rocsat 2 contract
is origianlly awarded by Germany's Dornier
Satellite System but was
cancelled later. (SSC)
[October 29, 1999] FY-2A Still Works China's National Satellite Meteorological Center
(NSMC) released lastest images reveived from the FY-2A
satellite. It shows the satellite still works well. (NMSC)
[October 22, 1999] China Targeting Landings on
Luna and Mars A recent national conference of space scientists
held in southern Guangxi province's Beihai city set the
landings as the "two big targets" for the
country's space programme in the 21st century. "Chinese
scientists are in the process of discussing details of
the lunar landing (project)," Ye Zili, the China
Space Science Association's general secretary, was quoted
as saying. He said dozens of plans and proposals for the
twin projects had already been put forward. The language
of the report left it unclear whether the missions under
discussion would be manned or not. (AFP)
[October 19, 1999] Russia to Help China with Its
First Manned Space Mission Russia is ready to cooperate with China on the
country's first manned space mission, the director of the
Russian Space Agency Yury Koptev said Monday, cited by
the Interfax news agency. Discussions between the two
countries are already underway. Russia had the capability
and was ready to help on projects that did not threaten
Russian security, presidential advisor Yevgeny
Shaposhnikov said in an interview with the Interfax
agency Monday. Koptev and Russian vice premier Ilya
Klebanov first brought up the possibility of helping the
Chinese with their space project at the end of August,
during a meeting of the joint commission formed to
strengthen Sino-Russian ties. (AFP)
[October 19, 1999] China and Italy Sign
Commercial Launch Agreement China will send an Italian-made satellite into
orbit in the first half of 2001, which will be a
breakthrough in the expansion of its commercial launch
service to Europe. According to an agreement signed
yesterday in Beijing, the China Great Wall Industry Corp
(CGWIC) will take Satelcom, a telecommunications
satellite owned by the Rome-based Alenia Aerospazio
company, into space aboard a three-stage Long March 3A
rocket. Weighing 2.6 tons, the US$100-million Satelcom is
a geo-stationary telecommunications satellite to be built
on Alenia's Italsat bus with 28 Ku-band transponders on
board. It will be the fourth, and the first commercial
launch for the Long March 3A. (China Daily)
[October 19, 1999] Alenia Considers Joint
Satellite Development with China Alenia is considering joint projects with China
including the development of more satellites for earth
observation, a common platform for telecommunications and
the development of advanced telecommunications systems
for tele-medicine and tele-training, China Daily reported.
Paolo Bruni, the Italian Ambassador in Beijing, told
China Daily in an interview that the Satelcom launch
contract signing is just the beginning of Italian-Sino
collaboration in the aerospace sector. "We can
develop satellites together to foster bilateral research
and development," he said. (China Daily)
[October 14, 1999] Ziyuan-1 Launch Successful Chinese-Brazilian resource satellite Ziyuan-1 (ZY-1,
or CBERS-1) and Brazilian small satellite SACI-1 was
successfully launched into space today by a Long March 4B
rocket from Taiyuan. The launch happened at 11:16am
Beijing time. 22 minutes and 40 seconds later, ZY-1 was
separated from the rocket followed by SACI-1 separation
about 25 minutes later. Both satellites entered the solar
synchronized orbit with inclination of 98 degree and
altitude of 761/763km. The ground station in Nanning has
received the signal from ZY-1. (INPE)
[October 13, 1999] FY-2 May Have Been Lost Again For the second time, China's first geostationary
meteorological satellite FY-2A stop to send signals. The
last image was received on September 30. It is not clear
whether the control center still has contact with the
satellite. The first time FY-2A stopped transmission in
April 1998 and resumed work in December. China plans to
send another FY-2 to replace FY-2A in the first half of
next year. (Note: FY-2A is its
official designation. However the name FY-2B has been
used widely including this site. I have changed its name
to FY-2A in all pages on this site)
[October 9, 1999] More Detail About CZ-4(8S) Shanghai Academy of Space Technology(SAST) is
developing an enhanced version of CZ-4, the CZ-4(8S),
that is to become operational in 2001. Eight FG-19A solid
strap-on boosters will be added to its first stage and
ignited at lift off. Each solid booster, 7.6m long,
develops a thrust of 500 kN during 70 seconds. CZ-4(8S)
will be able to launch up to 7800kg into 300km circular
orbit and put up to 2677kg into GTO. (Spaceflight
magazine)
[October 9, 1999] China to Launch Another FY-2
Next Year Shanghai TV (STV) reported yesterday that China
will launch the second FY-2 geostationary meteorological
satellite in the first half of next year. The new
satellite will replace the first FY-2 that was launched
in May 1997. FY-2 has an operational life of two years.
The video shows the new FY-2 is under assembly.
[October 6, 1999] ZY-1 Launch Date Moves Ahead The ZY-1 and SACI-1 satellites could be launched
one day before planned, if the weather conditions allow.
The new launch date has been set for October 14. The
launch window is from 11:26 local time. The satellites
are now on the Long March 4B rocket. The final rocket/satellites
test is ongoing. (INPE)
[October 6, 1999] China Transfers TT&C
Technology to Brazil China delivered a full package of satellite
telemetry, tracking and control software to Brazil's
National Space Research Institute(INPE) in early October.
The software system will be used to operate Chinese-Brazilian
resource satellite Ziyuan-1, or CBERS-1. Its launch is
now scheduled on October 14. China will also provide
training and complete documents for operating the system
in Brazil. It is the first time Chine transfer space
technology to a foreign country (Huashen News)
[October 4, 1999] Hainan Spaceport Project is
Likely to be Approved Chinese government is seriously assessing the
Hainan Commercial Spaceport project (see June news for the proposal), said
Long Lehao, vice director of China Academy of Launch
Vehicle Technology (CALT). Long pointed out that Hainan
spaceport has many advantages over 3 existing launch
sites. Rockets from there would carry 6-7% more payloads
than from Xichang and 11-12% more than from Jiuquan. It
is safer and is very suitable for future large launchers
because of its location near the sea. He reveals that the
project has gotten strong support from Hainan local
government and would include investment from Hong Kong or
Japan. (Huashen News)
[September 30, 1999] Update on Ziyuan-1 Launch The launch is scheduled at 11:26am Beijing Time
on October 15. Two satellites, Ziyuan-1 (CBERS-1) and
Brazilian mini-satellite SACI-1, have finished final
tests and will be mounted on the Long March 4B in the
first several days of October. The countdown will start
soon depending on the meteorological conditions, which is
also flexible to delay the launch till October 16.
[September 28, 1999] Small Satellite Seminar in
Shanghai The Small Satellite Application Seminar was held
in Shanghai on September 24. Attendees from Chinese
industry, academy and government organisations discussed
small satellite applications on communication and earth
observation in China. The small satellite team from China
Academy of Sciences (CAS) reported the experiences on
newly launched SJ-5 satellite and the progress on "Chuang
Xing 1" (Creation-1) small satellite project.
OrbComm from U.S. also presented their ORBCOMM small
communication satellite constellation and its application.
[September 23, 1999] China Great Wall Sets New
Goals The primary mission of China's aerospace
industry in the new millennium is to provide in-orbit
delivery and earth station services, said Zhang Xinxia,
president of China Great Wall Industrial Corp (CGWIC).
"The CGWIC will serve as an in-orbit delivery
supplier, meaning it will send China-made satellites atop
Chinese carriers into the preset orbits for overseas
users, and provide after-launch services," Zhang
said. It is significant considering that US alleged China
stole its sensitive technology and banned launching of US-made
satellites. Zhang also said the CGWIC is in active
discussions with satellite manufacturers and users in
Europe and Asia. He added that it is important for China
to develop its commercial launch services beyond the
American and Asia-Pacific market. (China Daily)
[September 9, 1999] Space Train Departs A train dubbed "Mobile Space Museum"
leaves Beijing on September 7. The museum train is to
stay in more than 40 cities over China during its 2 years
tour. Visitors will have a chance to closely watch
various Chinese made missiles, rockets and satellites
carried by the train. A DFH-1 satellite and a Long March
1 launch vehicle are reportedly to be exhibited. (CNS)
[September 3, 1999] ZY-1 Launch Set for October
14 ZY-1 Resource satellite is now in final testing
in China's Taiyuan Launch Center. The testing is going
smoothly and so far has no unexpected abnormalities. The
Long March 4B launch for ZY-1 (CBERS-1) and SACI-1 has
been set for October 14 tentatively. (INPE)
[September 3, 1999] ApStar-3,4,5 Planned APT Satellite Holdings Limited, Hong Kong today
announced the unaudited interim results of the Company
and its subsidiaries for the six months ended 30th June,
1999. Its consolidated net profit amounted to HK$23,353,000,
representing decreases 33% over the corresponding period
in 1998. Despite shrinking satellite transponder supply
in the Asia-Pacific region, the company will continue to
develop the new businesses as well as other planned
satellite projects. APT has scheduled to develop APSTAR-III,
APSTAR-IV (the Direct Broadcasting Satellites), as well
as APSTAR-V, the high-power satellite which will replace
APSTAR-I that is set to expire in 2004. (APT)
[September 2, 1999] Beijing's Space Museum Woos
Visitors More than 400,000 people have visited the
Chinese Space Museum located in southern Beijing since it
opened to the public in 1992. China is now capable of
developing and launching all kinds of man-made satellite
and carrier rockets, as well as carrying out space probes
and satellite retrieval. The museum's 5,000-square-meter
exhibition hall displays real satellites, rockets and
models depicting the different periods in the nation's
space industry. (Xinhua)