A Brazilian earth research satellite was lost today when a Chinese Long March rocket failed to put it into orbit.
The cause of the failure is not yet known. This failure, however, is a strong boost for SpaceX, as China is its strongest competitor in terms of price.
China’s lunar probe has entered lunar orbit.
The rover Yutu is scheduled to descend to the surface on December 14.
China has successfully launched its first rover mission to the Moon.
Touchdown on the Moon is scheduled for December 14. If they succeed, it will be the first softlanding on the Moon since 1976.
Chang’e 3 and Yutu – The tale of a beautiful goddess and her rabbit on the Moon.
In this case, the goddess and rabbit are Chinese robots exploring the Moon for science. The launch is scheduled for 1:30 am Monday in China, which is 12:30 pm Eastern Sunday in the U.S.
China’s next lunar mission, set to launch next month, will have a rover named “Yutu”.
In Chinese folklore, Yutu is the white pet rabbit of Chang’e, the moon goddess who has lent her name to the Chinese lunar mission. Legend has it that, after swallowing a magic pill, Chang’e took her pet and flew toward the moon, where she became a goddess, and has lived there with the white jade rabbit ever since.
Chang’e 2 is the name of the entire mission.
A new Chinese suspension bridge, set to open November 25, has won top honors for being such a long three-tower/two span bridge.
When it opens on Nov. 25, Taizhou Bridge will carry six lanes of traffic (plus two maintenance lanes) nearly 3-km across the Yangtze River. Though the total length of 2,940 m is an awfully long way, the bridge has two main spans using three towers rather than the norm of one main span using two support towers.
The two spans are each 1,080 m (3,540 ft) long, which individually is less than the main span of the Golden Gate Bridge at 1,280 m (4,200 ft), and much less than the 1,990-m (12,830 ft) span of the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, the longest main span of any suspension bridge on Earth. Two end spans of 390 m (1,280 ft) connect Taizhou Bridge with the banks of the river.
But in using two spans the Taizhou Bridge is a major breakthrough in structural engineering. The design requires the perfect balance of flexibility and rigidity in its 192-m (630-ft) steel central tower in order to withstand changing and imbalanced loads to either side. The complementary side towers are 178 m (584 ft) tall, and are made of concrete. The two main cables supporting the bridge are 3,110 m (10,200 ft) long and 72 cm (28 in) in diameter.
Think about it. The central tower is going to be pulled from both directions. Similarly, the outside towers must have incredible strain pulling them towards the center. Balancing it all is an amazing architectural achievement.
China reveals its space station plans.
“China Space Station (CSS) will operate in orbit from 2022 to 2032. This period will provide much more opportunities to scientists in China and all of the world after the international space station,” Gu Yidong, president of the China Society of Space Research, said at the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research conference here Nov. 3 – 8. The station’s core module is slated to launch in 2018, followed by two laboratory modules in 2020 and 2022. The outpost will be located in an orbit ranging from 350 kilometers to 450 kilometers above Earth and inclined 42 degrees relative to the planet’s equator.
The article describes in detail their research plans on their station, which sound much the same as the kind of research done on ISS. I suspect this is a bit of misdirection. Their station is clearly designed as a prototype interplanetary station, much like Mir. I believe that any research they do on it will be focused around that fact, which will make that research significantly different that the work done on ISS, which is often not very effective and poorly focused.
The competition heats up: A key new detail about SpaceX’s new Raptor rocket engine is revealed.
The only detail about the engine in the release noted it will be capable of generating nearly 300 tons of thrust in vacuum, around four times more powerful than the Merlin 1D. However, it is possible a Raptor engine set could become the baseline for a huge future rocket to be used by SpaceX for missions to Mars, along with a potential role with a Mars ascent stage. [emphasis mine]
It appears that the engine might be intended to replace the Merlin engine entirely, thus giving the Falcon 9 (and other future SpaceX rockets) significantly more power, both for putting payload into orbit as well as returning to the ground.
Meanwhile, it also appears the Chinese, who are SpaceX’s biggest competitor in terms of price, are developing their own methane-oxygen engine with likely similar capabilities.
Ain’t competition wonderful?
China complains about the ban of its scientists at a NASA Kepler conference.
The meeting is a key event for scientists searching for planets beyond the solar system. NASA has rejected applications from Chinese nationals, citing a new security law. In Beijing, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying called the move “discriminatory”. The conference is for US and international teams who work on Nasa’s Kepler space telescope program. It will be held at Nasa’s Ames research centre in California next month.
And I say, tough. China does not distinguish between civilian and military research, and in fact has often used its scientists to do espionage, stealing both military and industry secrets in the process.
Posted in Virginia as we pass through Harrisonburg. Note again that Diane, not I, is doing the driving.
The competition heats up: China today unveiled its first unmanned lunar rover, set for a December launch, and announced a competition for the public to name it.
The competition heats up: China today successfully launched a brand new quick response rocket.
Very little is known about the Kuaizhou rocket, other than it was developed by CASIC. No photos or graphics exist in the public domain. It is also known the rocket – likely on its test flight – was carrying a satellite, called Kuaizhou-1. Built by the Harbin Institute of Technology, the new satellite will be used for emergency data monitoring and imaging, under the control of the national remote sensing center at the national Academy of Sciences. The new satellite is probably part of a “quick response satellite system” model that was already announced as in the works by the Chinese.
The rocket appears to be fueled entirely by solid rocket motors. Thus, they could build a bunch and have them in storage, ready to go at any time.
The competition heats up: China announced today that it plans to hold the launch cost of its Long March rockets at $70 million per launch.
Until Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, Calif., arrived on the scene with advertised launch prices that bested even those of the Chinese, the Long March was considered the low-cost option among providers of rockets carrying satellites to geostationary transfer orbit, where most communications satellites are dropped off in orbit. [Chinese] officials point out that SpaceX has yet to prove its ability to maintain its prices – between $58 million and around $65 million for commercial customers – as it inaugurates its new Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket and ramps production to meet the company’s large commercial backlog.
China is gambling that its proven track record will entice customers to pay them the extra money over SpaceX’s unproven Falcon 9.
