[December 31, 1998] China To Introduce New Long
March Rockets The family of the Long March-series carrier
rockets, which has made major contributions to China's
aerospace industry, will become even more thriving. Li
Jianzhong, president of the Chinese Academy of Carrier
Rocket Technology, said China is making an all-out effort
to accelerate the development of new type of carrier
rocket and will soon introduce two new members of the
family of Long March rockets -- the Long March 1D and
Long March 3C.
The Long March 1D rocket is capable of launching a
variety of small-sized satellites weighing under 1,000 kg
and placing them at low orbits. At the same time, the
academy will also introduce a Long March 3C carrier
rocket, the load of which is 3,700 kg at the earth
geostationary orbit. Besides the Long March 3C, the
Chinese Academy of Carrier Rocket Technology plans to
develop an improved model of the Long March 2 cluster
rocket and a large rocket with heavier thrust power.
These rockets' low-orbit carrying capacity will reach 14
to 15 tonnes and their high-orbit carrying capacity will
reach 7 tonnes. These rockets will make their debut in
the market one after another soon. (Xinhua)
[December 29, 1998] China Looking to Six
Satellite Launches in 1999 China is planning to launch six satellites
next year, matching its 1998 record, the official China
Daily reported Tuesday. The launches will mainly comprise
Iridium satellites for Motorola's new global
telephone network, as well as a Sino-Brazilian scientific
satellite and a Chinese weather satellite, said Wang
Liheng, deputy general manager of the China Aerospace
Corporation. China now has nine percent of the world
satellite launch market. It successfully sent up six
commercial satellites on Long March rockets in 1998,
after a series of disasters in the mid-nineties led to
five failures in four years. (AFP)
[December 20, 1998] Long March Launches Two More
Iridiums A China Great Wall Industry Corp. Long March
2C/SD rocket successfully launched a pair of replacement
Iridium communications satellites today, the Xinhua news
service reported. Liftoff from the Taiyuan Satellite
Launch Center in China was on time at about 19:30 Beijing
time December 19 (1130 GMT). The successful launch, the
13th since the Long March carrier rocket family was
introduced in October 1996, represented the completion
of China's 1998 launch schedule and highlighted the
progress of China's commercial launch service.
[December 11, 1998] Asiasat-3S to be Launched on
Febraury 21 The Russian Khrunichev Space Centre intends to
recompense for last year's failure to launch the Chinese
satellite "Asiasat-3" by the Russian booster
rocket "Proton." A new model of the
"Asiasat-3S" is planned to be taken into the
orbit free of charge on February 21, 1999. "Last
year's launching had been insured, and we were paid the
insurance and used the received funds to build a new
Proton booster rocket to launch the Chinese
satellite," said a spokesperson for the Khrunichev
Space Center. The "Asiasat-3S" satellite has
also been built on the insurance funds. A one-time
launching of the "Proton" booster rocket is
estimated at 70 million dollars on average. (Itar-Tass)
[December 11, 1998] China Denies Hughes Help China denied it had obtained any sensitive
information from the Hughes Electronics Corp. Thursday
after a Pentagon report said China had received
information that improved the reliability of its rocket
launches. Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon said the
information supplied by Hughes helped the Chinese with
problems caused by wind blast or wind burst in launches,
and with problems arising from the way satellites were
attached to the rocket. Hughes has denied any wrongdoing,
saying its contacts with the Chinese officials were
approved by the Commerce Department and contending that
there is "a significant difference between
intercontinental ballistic missiles and commercial
rockets."
[December 11, 1998] SES To Buy 34% Stake In
AsiaSat Luxembourg based satellite operator Societe
Europeene des Satellites SA (L.SEC) said Thursday it will
buy a 34.13% stake in Asia Satellite Telecommunications
Holdings Ltd. (SAT) from Cable & Wireless PLC (CWP)
and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (H.HUW) for $331 million.
Commenting on the deal, SES Chief Executive Romain Bausch
said, "The investment in AsiaSat is a cornerstone in
SES's strategic development. The transaction positions
SES and its Astra satellite system, together with
AsiaSat, to play a leading role in the planned
establishment of a global satellite infrastructure,"
he said. (Dow Jones Newswires)
[December 11, 1998] Rocsat-1 Shiped to U.S. for
Launch Taiwan's first wholly-owned satellite was
airlifted to the United States on Dec 9 and will be
launched next month. "The science research
satellite, ROCSAT-1, has passed a series of stringent
tests," a spokesman for the National Space Program
Office said. "The low-orbit satellite will be
launched on January 27 in California." The 410 kg
(902 pound) satellite, designed by TRW Space and
Electronics Group of the United States at a cost of 60
million US dollars, was brought to Taiwan in May for
tests. It will be powered by a solar panel made by
Taiwan's Shihlin Electric and Engeneering Corp. and be
equipped with a computer built by local company Acer
Sertek Inc. Other parts have also been built locally. The
island is due to launch another satellite before putting
into orbit eight micro-satellites weighing only around 40
kilos each.
[December 11, 1998] FY-2 was Used to Detect Solar
Events Some detectors on the FY-2 meteorological
satellite have helped detect two solar events that can
help Chinese satellites. Scientists at the Chinese
Academy of Sciences' Center for Space Science and Applied
Research (CSSAR) added a solar X-ray detector and a space
particle detector to the satellite, which was launched in
June of 1997, according to Wang Shijin, deputy-director
of CSSAR's Space Environment Probe Lab. More than a dozen
solar flares were seen by the solar X-ray detector on
November 3 and 4, 1997, and scientists at CSSAR decided
that they indicated a proton event and immediately warned
organizations about the need to protect their satellites.
[December 11, 1998] Intelsat Providing Services
to China Telecom INTELSAT announced December 2nd that it is
providing China Telecom with a new five-year lease
satellite communications services to link China to the
Internet backbone through their Intelsat 702 satellite.
(LaunchSpace)
[December 6] Sinosat-1 Handed Over to Users A European-made satellite launched by a Chinese
rocket on July 18 this year became available to its users
on December 4. The satellite, the Sinosat-1, is the first
commercial telecommunications satellite managed by the
Sino Satellite Communications Company Ltd of China, which
is engaged in the leasing of satellite transponders and
other aspects of the satellite telecommunications
business. Users of the satellite include the Civil
Aviation Administration of China, the People's Bank of
China and the Shanghai Satellite TV Station. Sources said
that the satellite is operating normally and all
functions meeting design requirements. The satellite has
an effective life of 17 years.
[December 6] ST-1 Begins Commercial Services A Taiwan-Singapore satellite launched commercial
operations on Dec 1, three months after it blasted into
orbit. The ST-1 telecommunications satellite, a
partnership between Taiwan's state-run Chunghwa Telecom
and Singapore Telecom, was launched by an Ariane 44P
rocket from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana,
on August 26. At Tuesday's ceremony Chunghwa Telecom
contracted domestic cable television and radio services
to be carried by the satellite. It will support video
broadcasting and VSAT (very small apeture terminal),
telephony and data services. Local media said the defense
ministry planned to lease a Ku channel, which has a
higher frequency and a broader frequency band than the C
channel and is less easily intercepted.
[November 27] AsiaSat Orders Backup Satellite
From Hughes Hughes Space and Communications Co. has received
an authorization to proceed notice from Asia Satellite
Telecommunications Co. Ltd. (AsiaSat) to build a backup
satellite for AsiaSat 3S, currently scheduled for launch
in the first quarter of 1999. Under the terms of the
agreement, if the AsiaSat 3S should suffer a launch
failure, Hughes would deliver a backup satellite,
designated AsiaSat 3SB, to AsiaSat for launch before the
end of 1999. If the launch of AsiaSat 3S is successful,
the order would be altered for a future AsiaSat
satellite. The new satellite is to be launched by a
Chinese Long March 3B, as reported earlier.
[November 20] China Plans Small Satellite Network Xu Fuxiang, president of the Chinese Academy of
Space Technology (CAST) said that China has achieved a
number of technological breakthroughs and plans to
establish a small satellite network. CAST and various
related departments recently completed a feasibility
study of technology needed to establish a satellite
environmental monitoring and disaster warning network,
according to Xu. The network of six advanced satellites,
including four optical satellites and two radar
satellites orbiting on two planes, will provide
round-the-clock monitoring. Xu said China also plans to
develop small satellite networks fornavigation, global
positioning, mobile telecommunications and earth
observations. China has joined a number of countries in
the Asia-Pacific region in the development of the small
multi-mission satellite SMMS.
[November 20] U.S. Clears APMT Launch Washington has approved the launch of a
sensitive U.S.-made satellite by a Chinese-controlled
company with close ties to the Chinese military, after
putting the deal under review in June, reports the
Intelligence column in the latest edition of the Far
Eastern Economic Review published Thursday. Sources in
Washington say that the satellite, APMT-1, made by Hughes
Space & Communications, was given the go-ahead in
October. The $650 million deal was approved in June 1996
but was held up in June this year after The
New York Times reported that the satellite carried an
antenna that could be used to eavesdrop on
mobile-telephone communications throughout Asia, as well
as transmit military communications within China. (Dow
Jones Newswires)
[November 17] News From the Airshow The Airshow China '98 opened on November 15 in
Zhuhai. On the press conference held yesterday, Wang
Liheng, vice-president of China Aerospace Corp said China
plans to make six satellite launches in 1999, three of
them are commercial launching deals. The satellites to be
launched are Fengyun 1, Shijian 5, Ziyuan 1, the
replacement Iridium Network satellites, and an
experimental science and technology satellite. Regarding
a manned-spacecraft programme, Wang said the project is
still in the stages of technical research. "We are
required to make a breakthrough by 2000 in research and
development, so it is too early in terms of the
engineering phase to discuss." He also dismissed
assertions made by some US congressmen that China had
received sensitive information as "groundless"
and "untrue."
[November 15] Great Wall Signs Launch Agreement
with AsiaSat China on Saturday signed an agreement to launch
a communications satellite for Hong Kong's Asia Satellite
Telecommunication Co Ltd (AsiaSat). "The agreement
provides for the reservation of a launch opportunity for
the launch of an AsiaSat satellite on a Long March 3B
from the Xichang Launch Centre,'' Wang Liheng, vice
president of China Aerospace Corp, Great Wall's parent
company, told a news conference at the 1998 International
Aviation and Aerospace Exibition in the southern city of
Zhuhai. He declined to disclose the value of the contract
or any other details relating to the launch. (Reuters)
[November 15] ROCSAT-1 Heads for US in December
for Launch Taiwan's first satellite, ROCSAT-1, is scheduled
to be transported to the United States in early December
for launch on Jan. 27, 1999, the National Science Council
(NSC) announced on Wednesday. "The satellite's
instrument testing has now been completed, and we have
leased a China Airlines cargo plane to transport the
satellite's main body, three scientific research
payloads, machinery equipment, and electrical support
facilities, to Florida on Dec. 9," said Hsu
Chia-ming, director of the NSC's National Space Program
Office (NSPO). "The testing is the most demanding
part of the assembly process, and its completion marks a
milestone in the development of Taiwan's satellite
program," Hsu said. ROCSAT-1, also known as
Formosa-1, features five vital components that were
Taiwan made.(CNA)
[November
11] Long March Starts countdown for '98 Airshow China The '98 Airshow China will open on Nov 15
in Zhuhai, a southern city in China. Two Long March
rockets, a Long March 2E and a Long March 3B have been
erected in Zhuhai. They are the largest space products
exhibited in the airshow. CALT will also put a fleet of
Long March models around the two giants, including the
new Long March 4B. CAST will show its satellites
developed in last 30 years, including DFH-1, 2, 2A and 3,
SJ-1 and 2, the ZY-1 resource satellite that is scheduled
to be launched in next year, and a "real"
re-entry capsule of the FSW recoverable satellite, which
is the first time shown to public. The airshow will last
one week and is estimated to attract one million
visitors. (official
Airshow China site)
[November 9] Fengyun 3 Program Formally Started Chinese new generation polar orbit weather
satellite Fengyun-3 (FY-3) will formally enter the
engineering phase. The feasibility report of the overall
design of the satellite was approved on the review
meeting held on October 29 and 30 in Beijing. As the new
generation polar orbit weather satellite, FY-3 will be
more advanced than its predecessor FY-1. It will be
equipped with new global, all-weather, multi-band, 3
dimension sensors. The 8th Academy of China Aerospace
Corporation, Shanghai Academy of Space Technology will be
responsible for the development of the FY-3 satellite.
[November 8] MSNBC Talks About Project 921 "While the world is focusing on John
Glenns mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery,
space scientists in China are planning to replicate
Glenns historic 1962 space flight." Cited Phillip
Clark's article, assessments from the Pentagon, and a
new book by a pair of congressional researchers, the MSNBC
article gives an outline of the Chinese manned
program. Clark said the manned launch schedule remains an
even greater state secret. The Chinese had hoped to test
the launch vehicle for human missions in the second half
of this year. But that launch never materialized, and
there is some concern that the schedule is slipping, he
said. The article also mentioned Chinese shuttle, space
station and deep space missions. "Early in the next
century, the Chinese expect to have a space
plane and a lunar lander. A trip to Mars is also
being considered," said William C. Triplett,
co-author of the book "Year of the Rat". A
Pentagon report also notes that the Chinese are doing
research on hypersonic craft, research that could be
utilized in designing advanced spacecraft.
[November 4] Pentagon Said China Alreay Has
Anti-satellite Capacity A Pentagon study released Tuesday said China
already may be able to use lasers to damage sensors on
satellites. Since the 1991 Gulf War, Beijing has devised
a new military doctrine that calls for a high-tech
response to the precision-guided weapons, satellites and
advanced information technologies that the United States
put to such devastating use against Iraq. It may have
acquired high energy laser equipment and the technical
assistance needed to develop ground based anti-satellite
weapons. "However, given China's current level of
interest in laser technology, it is reasonable to assume
that Beijing would develop a weapon that could destroy
satellites in the future," it said. (AFP)