[November 22, 2000] U.S. to Resume Satellite Export License Processing U.S Department of State Spokesman Richard Boucher said
on the daily press breifing on November 21 that United States will resume the
processing of licenses for commercial launches of US satellites in China, after China's
statement regarding China's commitment not to assist in any way other countries to develop
ballistic missiles. In addition, the United States and China will resume discussions as
soon as possible on extending the 1995 US-China agreement regarding commercial
launch services. He said that all applications for these export license continue to be
subject to case-by-case review. (U.S Department of State)
[November 22, 2000] China Issues White Paper on Space Activities The Information Office of the State Council published November
21 a white paper, titled "China's Space Activities." The white paper, in 12,000
Chinese characters, comprises a foreword and four parts with the subtitles of "Aims
and Principles," "Present Situation," "Future Development," and
"International Cooperation." The policy paper says China will continue to
promote the development of its space program in the light of its national situation, and
make due contributions to the peaceful use of outer space, and to the civilization and
progress of mankind. (People's Daily)
[November 19, 2000] China Issues Shenzhou Stamps One year after the historic Shenzhou launch, China's State Post Bureau issued a
set of two stamps on November 20, 2000, to commemorate the successful test flight of the
"Shenzhou" Spaceship. Two stamps, one for the CZ-2F rocket and another for the
Shenzhou spaceship, have a unique triangle design. (China Post)
[November 19, 2000] Beidou in GEO Since the Beiduo launch, China has never annouced its orbit status. But
USSPACECOM has found Beidou 1 is in geo-synchronous orbit. They show that it is located
over 140 deg E. According to recent Chinese reports, Beidou is working normally these
days. (Phillip Clark, Wen Wei Po)
[November 7, 2000] Shenzhou Comes to Zhuhai The Third China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition opened Monday in
Zhuhai in south China's Guangdong Province. A Shenzhou full-scale mockup, the CF-2F shroud
and the escape tower are displayed. It is reportedly that these exhibits were shipped from
Hong Kong where the Shenzhou mockup was publicized for the first time. On a news
conference during the Airshow, China repeated the plan to send man into space in
"early 21th century". "The country's first generation of astronauts are now
receiving intensive training," Luan Enjie, administrator of China's National Space
Administration, told reporters.
[November 7, 2000] Solid Launcher Officially Named China's new solid small space launher(under development) has been officially
named "Kaituozhe-1" (Explorer-1). The launcher is capable of puting 100kg into
polar orbits and is scheduled to make the first flight in 2002.
[November 7, 2000] More Details of Beidou China comfirms that the Beiduo (the Big Dipper or the Plough) navigation
satellite, launched on Oct 31, is working normally. The second satellite is under
testing but no launch date has been revealed. Unofficial reports indicate that the final
"Beidou Reginal Positioning System" will include four GEO satellites, of which
two are backup satellites. China will complete the system in next few years.
[October 31, 2000] China Puts 1st Navigation Positioning Satellite into Orbit China successfully put its first home-made navigation positioning satellite, the
Beidou Navigation Testing Satellite, into orbit early today with a Long March 3-A rocket.
The carrier rocket blasted off at 0:02 (Beijing time) from the Xichang Satellite Launching
Center in Sichuan Province, southwest China. To meet the demand for country's satellite
navigation, China will establish its first generation of satellite navigation positioning
system --the Beidou Navigation System, an official said. It will be an all-weather
regional navigation system that provides satellite-guided information round the clock for
such sectors as highway and railway transportation and seafaring. Cao Gangchuan, a member
of the Central Military Commission and director of the General Armament Department of the
Chinese People's Liberation Army, observed the launching process on site. (Xinhua)
[October 19, 2000] HY-1 Launch Targets Next May China has tentatively set the launch date of HY-1, China's first ocean satellite,
in May next year. To prepare future applications of the satellite, China's National Ocean
Administration(SOA) has started construction of one of its two ground stations, that is
located in Sanya, Hainan Island. The another ground station is located in Beijing. HY-1
(Haiyang 1) will use the CAST968, a smaller satellite bus that has been used on SJ-5
scientific satellite. (Eastday.com)
[October 19, 2000] China Has No Lunar Landing Plan Chinese state media, quoting sceintists with China's first space robot research
center, reported Tuesday that China will send robots to the moon before future manned
landing. Sun Zengqi, a space robot specialist said that relevant science institutions are
actively studying key robotic technologies. Liang Bin, deputy director of the center,
releaves that "breakthroughs have been made in many key technologies of space
robots." However, in a later interview, Mr. Sun denies any lunar plans and claims
their space robotics researches are only academic works. "There is lunar landing
program at all in Chinese space program," he said. (Beijing Morning)
[October 14, 2000] China Reveals New Launcher Detail During the International Astronautical Federation(IFA) annual congress in Rio de
Janeiro, China has unveiled deatils of the new heavy-lift launch vehicle. Powered by
kerosene/LOX/LH2 engines and four strap-on boosters, the new 800-ton, 50-55-meter high
launcher will be capable of lifting 23 tons into LEO in single-stage configuration and 11
tons into geostationary transfer orbit. China also reveals that the CZ-2EA, equipped with
new avionics borrowed from the man-rated CZ-2F, will be tested within 2-3 years. The CZ-1D
small launcher is slated to make its first flight next year, while the another small
launcher, a 4 stage solid rocket, is still under design. (AW&ST, The Orbital Report)
[October 14, 2000] China to Launch One Ocean Satellite Every Two Year China is planning to launch its first marine observation satellite HY-1 next
year, Radio Beijing said Friday. The radio, in a broadcast monitored by Radio Press, said
China plans to end its reliance on foreign satellites for marine observation in the future
by launching one marine observation satellite every two years over the next 10 years.
(Japan Economic Newswire)
[October 7, 2000] Tsinghua-1 Snapshot in Space Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) just released a Tsinghua-1 picture taken
in orbit by SNAP-1, the world's most advanced nanosatellite, weighing just 6.5kg. The
picture shows that the Tsinghua-1 microsatellite was deployed into orbit when the
spacecraft were approximately 8m apart. (SSTL)
[October 7, 2000] China Emphasizes ZY-2's Civil Usage Zhu Yilin, China's satellite expert and academician of the International Space
Academy Telecommunications Institute, told Hong Kong reporters that the ZY-2 satellite is
a transmitting remote-sensing satellite. It can only identify objects on the ground which
are several dozen meters to 1 km from each other. It can never be used for military
purposes. Like the ZY-1 satellite, its was equipped with CCD cameras and infrared
multispectral scanner. (Ta Kung Pao)
[October 7, 2000] China Shows Interest in International Mars Exploration In a speech in Beijing University to celebrate the "World Space Week",
Luan Enjie, Administrator of the China National Space Administration indicated China's
interet in international Mars exploration. "We will conduct exploration of the moon
and actively join international activities for Mars exploration." Luan told the
audience. He also highlighted China's plan on remote-sensing satellites and communication
satellites, as well as new generation launch vehicles. (CNSA)
[October 1, 2000] China to Launch the Breeding Satellite EastDay.com reports that China will launch a special purpose breeding satellite
in next 2-3 years. The satellite will carry seeds of grass, trees and corps. Wang Yusheng,
a researcher from China Space Science and Technology Corporation, reveals that China has
introduced and grown 25 types of grass seeds from Hungary, 15 of which will be carried
into space. Space breeding is China's invention and was conducted on the FSW series
recoverable satellite in last two decades.
[October 1, 2000] ChinaSat 8 Still Grounded Space News reports that the U.S. State Department will not take any
decision regarding the export license for the Space Systems/Loral-built Chinasat 8
satellite to China before a new administration is introduced in January. Chinasat 8 was
initially due for launch in 1999 atop a Chinese CZ-3B vehicle but its export license was
suspended in December 1998 after Loral was charged with violations of U.S. export control
laws. (The Obital Report)
[October 1, 2000] Exhibition Opens to Celebrate the World Space Week The opening ceremony of a Space Science and Technology Exhibition named
"Humankind and Space -- Celebrating the World Space Week" was held at the
Military Museum of the Chinese People’s Revolution on September.28. Mr. Luan Enjie,
the administrator of CNSA (China National Space Administration) hosted the opening
ceremony. At the exhibition, a life-size mock of the Shenzhou manned spacecraft makes its
first public appearance within China. (CNSA)
[November 19, 2000] China Issues Shenzhou Stamps
[October 7, 2000] Tsinghua-1 Snapshot in Space