[December 31, 2000] Upcoming Shenzhou Launch Confirmed
Wen Wei Po, a Hong Kong newspaper having close connections with the Chinese government,
reported that China is ready to launch the second Shenzhou unmanned spaceship. It finally
confirmed the rumored Shenzhou 2 launch in early January. In 1999, the same newspaper had
a similar report one week before the hostoric Shenzhou 1 launch.
[December 29, 2000] Second Beidou Located in GEO
Accoding to latest data from USSPACECOM, the second Beiduo Navigation satellite is now
located over 80 deg E. Together with the first Beidou satellite, China's initial satellite
navigation system has been completed. (Phillip Clark)
[December 29, 2000] China Bids for Iranian Comsat
Iran's Telecommunications Corporation will select one satellite supplier from four
competitors from France, Russia, China and India. The planned Zohreh communication
satellite will be the first domestic comsat to serve Iran's 60 millions population. The
decision is expected early next year and the satellite is to be launched into space in
2002. (SpaceChina)
[December 27, 2000] China May Launch Shenzhou-2 within Two Weeks
According to information obtained by this site from multiple sources, China may launch the
second unmanned spaceship Shenzhou-2 within two weeks. The mission will probably last
about seven days.
[December 24, 2000] Mystery Continues International Aviation, a professional aviation magazine published in
Chinese, reveals in an article that China launched its last recoverable satellite on April
20, 1997. This launch has neither been officially announced nor counted in the official
launch log of Long March. As there is no any official confirmation for this launch, the
existence of it is still a mystery. Similarly, in May 1997, Reuters has reported a
military satellite launch but never got confirmed. (refer to the
feature article regarding this launch).
[December 24, 2000] Jiuquan VAB Sets Record
Chinese media reveals that the vertical assembly building in Jiuquan Satellite Launch
Center has set many world records. The VAB, code name 920-520, built by the 8th Division of CSCEC, is the world's largest
concrete rocket assembly building, is also the world's tallest single-floor concrete
building, and has the world's tallest(86.1m above the ground) and heaviest(13000 tons)
concrete building roof.
[December 21, 2000] China Launches the Second Beidou Navigation Satellite
A Long March 3A rocket, carrying the second Beidou
Navigation experimental satellite, was launched successfully at 0:20 Beijing time on
December 21 from the Xichang Satellite Launching Center in Southwest China's
Sichuan Province. China Now has its own satellite navigation positioning system.
(Xinhua)
[December 14, 2000] China to Launch 30 Satellites in Next Five Years China will launch some 30 satellites during the next five years.
According to sources from relevant departments, the 30 satellites cover 15 different
categories including communication, positioning, meteorology, earth resource observation
as well as space exploration. Starting from next year, China will launch several unmanned
spacecraft before putting manned spacecraft into orbit. Astronauts(Taikonauts) are
currently being trained in China and relevant experiments are being conducted, sources
noted. (China Daily)
[December 14, 2000] Beidou: From Concept to Reality In 1983, Mr. Chen Fangyun proposed to develop the "Twinsat"
regional navigation system using two geosationary satellites. The concept was proven in
1989 in a test using two in-orbit DFH-2/2A comsats. The test shows that the precision of
the twinsat system would be comparable to the GPS system. In 1993, the "Beiduo"
program officially started. Beiduo uses the DFH-3 bus and has similar basic performances
as the latter. The final Beiduo system will consist of four GEO satellites, two of
which are operational while others are backups.
[December 13, 2000] China to Build A Shenzhou Tracking Station in Namibia China and Namibia has signed an agreement to build a tracking, telemetry and
space research station (TTST) in Namibia to support China's manned space program. The
station, constructed at a cost of about 12m Namibian dollars, will cover an area of 150 by
85 metres and consist of an administration building and two antennas. Construction will be
completed by mid-2001 and the station will be operational by the end of next year. (The
Namibia, thanks to James Oberg)
[December 8, 2000] Another Milestone for Kaituozhe-1 The Kaitouzhe-1(KT-1) small launcher passed a key design
review on November 16. The 14-member review committee concluded that the overall design of
the KT-1 launch vehicle is feasible and reasonable and could meet the requirement for
launching the mockup micro-sat and other micro-sats. After this review, the project will
officially enter the engineering phase. (SpaceChina)
[December 8, 2000] China Ready to Launch the "Seeds Satellite" Keji Daily reported that China's first "Seeds
Satellite" is technically ready for launch. Developed by CAST, the world's first
"seed satellite" is a recoverable satellite (FSW) and will carry about 250-300kg
of plant seeds. During past 10 years, China has accumulated rich experiences in creating
new plant variants by exposing seeds in space environment. (Correction: in the previous news, I improperly translated the Chinese term for
the new satellite to "Breeding Satellite. "Seeds Satellite" is actually a
more suitable translation)
