Chinese Space News (April 1998)

• [April 30, 1998] Iridium Launch Set for May 1
  Due to unfavorable weather conditions, the launch of two Iridium satellites by a Long March 2C/SD rocket has been postponed. A new launch attempt will be made Friday, May 1, 1998. The Long March 2C/SD is scheduled to lift-off at 5:22 p.m. Beijing time (5:22 a.m. EDT; 0922 GMT) from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China.

• [April 26, 1998] AsiaSat 3 Could Be Saved by the Moon
  The Space Frontier Foundation, disclosed that the operators of AsiaSat 3 ,a privately owned communications satellite stranded in a useless orbit last December, have maneuvered the spacecraft into an orbit that could swing by the Moon. According to data made available by the U.S. Air Force and the NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center, the orbit of AsiaSat 3 has been increased over the last month to send the spacecraft in the direction of the Moon, ikely making this the first commercial operation in the lunar vicinity. According to David Anderman, a member of the Board of Directors of the Space Frontier Foundation, "the recent movement of the AsiaSat 3 satellite is likely a last ditch effort to use the Moon's gravity to swing the satellite into its intended geosynchronous orbit over the equator." He added, "If this lunar maneuver works, AsiaSat 3 will not only be the first private spacecraft to operate in the vicinity of the Moon, but it will prove a long-held theory that certain launches to geosynchronous orbit can save fuel by flying a slingshot maneuver around the Moon. With water ice having been discovered at the lunar poles, and the coming revolution in space transportation, commercial missions to the Moon could become commonplace in the next decade."

• [April 23, 1998] APMT Starts, ST-1 Delayed
  China announced yesterday the fundation of APMT, Asia Pacific Mobile Telecommunications, a joint venture by China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonnesia and Japan. The first APMT satellite will be put into service in 2000 and will provide 12,000 voice channels for 2 million mobile users. The satellite is an HP-601HP and will be launched by a Long March 3B, Singapore based Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported today. The paper also announced the launch of Taiwan/Singapore ST-1 comsat has been delayed to the third quarter this year due to business problem.

• [April 22, 1998] Chinese Astronauts Training Photo Released
  Guangzhou Dialy released a photo today that shows two Chinese astronauts in training at somewhere in China. They wears the space suit with helmet and are inside a test chamber, that is probably the vacum chamber to test the space suit. This is the first photo released in recent years revealing the detail of Chinese space program.

• [April 22, 1998] China Telecom Invests in Globalstar
  Globalstar announced Tuesday that China Telecom (Hong Kong) Group Ltd. has agreed to invest $37.5 million to become a full partner in Globalstar L.P. China Telecom, a dominant provider of fixed and wireless services in China, along with CHINASAT (China Telecommunications Broadcast Satellite Corporation), will retain the sole rights to provide Globalstar services in China. China Telecom and CHINASAT will manage all Globalstar operations in China. China's first Globalstar gateway is nearing completion in Beijing, with subsequent gateways to be built in Guangzhou and Lanzhou, where siting and survey work is underway. Including China, Globalstar now has service provider agreements in more than 100 countries, covering 85% of Globalstar's business plan.

• [April 21, 1998] Chinese Manned Spacecraft Launch Set for Next Year
  The manned space flight exercises have begun in the launch base these days, a Shanghai based newspaper, Shanghai Economy reported. It said the first manned spacecraft will take off late next year but did not mention whether it is a manned or unmanned launch. Three important parts of the vehicle, the space cabin, telemetry system and power system have been developed in Shanghai.

• [April 21, 1998] China Building New Wind Tunnels For Space Development
  Chinese scientists have built  two special wind tunnels in southwest China's Sichuan Province for development of the country's aerospace industry. The new tunnels will be used for testing China's space shuttle, carrier rockets and strategic missiles. The high-frequency plasma wind tunnel and the supersonic speed propelling wind tunnel are being built by China Aerodynamics Research and Development Center and will be the most advanced in Asia. (Xinhua)

• [April 19, 1998] China to Increase the Reliability of Long March
  Zhang Xinxia, president of the China Great Wall Enterprises Group, said China will strive to increase the reliability of its Long March rockets, which had three failures in 1995 and 1996 while 8 successful launches conducted since then. Besides, it will also lower costs, shorten the service period, increase adaptability, ensure launching time, develop new rockets depending on market demand and carry out reform of the management and operation mechanism in a bid to meet challenges of the international astronautics industry market to expand the percentage of the international market it has taken up. [Chinese News Agency]

• [April 17, 1998] US Continues Investgating on Space Technology Export to China
  The New York Times reported that several US congressional committees are investigating whether the administration's policy of exporting space satellite technology to China has helped China and other countries to develop and use nuclear missiles. Two US companies are reportly investegated for the same reason early this month. Meanwhile, Beijing denied yesterday that it has gotten any sensitive technology from US.

• [April 16, 1998] Loral Denys Giving China Missile Expertise
  Loral denied reports it had given China the expertise to significantly improve the reliability of its nuclear missiles. "We feel people involved in that behaved correctly," said Gregory Clark, president and chief operating officer of Loral Space & Communications. "They did not divulge any information that was inappropriate. We feel that very strongly. As time goes by, I'm sure we will be vindicated." The New York Times reported on Monday that a classified Defence Department report concluded that Loral and Hughes Electronics scientists turned over the information as part of their investigation into the crash of a Chinese rocket in February 1996. (Reuters)

• [April 15, 1998] Latest Timetable for Chinese Manned flight
  Guangzhou based Yangcheng Evening News said on April 12 that the first Chinese astronaut will fly in next two years but gave no more details. It mentioned lunar and space station plans too. This is the latest one in a series of reports about Chinese future space program since mid of March, and is the most definite launch schedule so far. CNN also quoted this news on April 14.

• [April 10, 1998] Messages From Beijing Space Conference
  A report by Christian Science Monitor gives more details of the space conference held in Beijing three weeks ago. Although Chinese scientists had not been authorized to disclose the state's space program, they presented papers at the meeting, sketched out details of the future missions. "China is likely to begin its manned mission with a single orbit around Earth, and later launch its lunar quest", one scientist said. "Right now, Chinese launchers have the capability to send scientific devices, but not humans, to the moon," said another scientist, "My personal estimate, is that it could take up to eight years to design a lunar spacecraft". Feasibility studies on proposed  trips to the moon and the Red Planet has already bagun. They also called for greater international cooperation in space and the lifting of an apparent freeze on China's participation in major joint projects. They all resent China's exclusion from the International Space Station. (Thanks: Curt Swinehart)

• [April 8, 1998] Chinese Prepare for Manned Launches
  The French-language Space News InNet (issue 195) reported on April 7, 1998: On the occasion of a French-Chinese space industry visit organized by theCASC and Prospace, the Chinese unveiled their plan for a manned vehicle which will be abe to fly at the beginning of the impending century. The vehicle, which has a great resemblance to the Russian Soyuz, has benefited from technology used on their recoverable satellite FSW (17 launches since 1975). Moreover, the Chinese have obtained certain technologies from the Russians. The vehicle will be launched on an LM-313 rocket into a low orbit. Finally, the two trainee Chinese who have been training at Star City near Moscow have returned to China in December. (Thanks: Curt Swinehart)

• [April 7, 1998] New Long March Model Unveiled
  Chinese Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology website released a drawing that shows a new model of Long March rocket is under development. The new model is an improved Long March 2E, called 2E(A). The diffrence between 2E(A) and the original 2E is four longer Ariane-5 style boosters, which increases the LEO capacity from 9.2t to 12t. The new launcher is very likely to be used to launch the manned spacecraft from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in next few years. A new launch pad for manned flight has been built in Jiuquan according to some space analysts. (see CALT site)

• [April 6, 1998] First Chinese Contribution to ISS
  Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), the space antimatter detector, jointly developed by China, Taiwan and other six countries, will be launched into space in May by US shuttle Discovery (STS-91). Chinese Academy of Sciences is responsible for building the 1.85 tons permanent magnet. Chinese Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology built the AMS support structure and performed vibration tests on the magnet. After this flight, AMS will be launched into space again and installed on International Space Station in January 2001. AMS might be the first Chinese contribution to ISS.

• [April 5, 1998] Two US Companies Investigated for Offering China Space Technology
  A US federal grand jury is investigating whether Loral Space & Communications and Hughes Electronics illegally gave China space expertise that significantly advanced Beijing's ballistic missile program. But the officials said the criminal inquiry was dealt a serious blow two months ago when President Clinton quietly approved the export to China of similar know-how by one of the companies under investigation. The inquiry is focused on the events following the Feb. 15, 1996, explosion of a Chinese rocket carrying a Loral satellite seconds after liftoff. After the explosion, the Chinese asked two U.S. companies to help conduct an independent study of the failure and report to the Chinese on what went wrong, which may give the Chinese crucial assistance in improving the guidance systems of their rockets. The technology needed to put a commercial satellite in orbit is similar to that which guides a long-range missile nuclear missile to its target. The federal government now changed its regulations and requires companies to obtain a separate license to participate in any accident review, the New York Times reported.

• [April 2, 1998] Another 50 Long March Launches in 7-8 Years
  China celebrated its 50th Long March launch (Iridium launch on April 25) yesterday and said it will complete next 50 in 7-8 years including other 9 Iridium launches. Representatives from US and European space companies attended the celemony. Message from the event aslo confirmed the China-Germany joint developed Sinosat-1 will be launched in June.

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