China develops new system to quickly find fallen rocket debris

China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center Wednesday announced the development of a new positioning system that can greatly shorten the time searching for rocket debris. The system has proved efficient in seeking out fallen rocket pieces after the center launched the 54th BeiDou satellite into space on March 9. The satellite was sent into space by a Long March-3B carrier rocket. With the guidance of the system, the center staff just spent 25 minutes finding the rocket boosters, while in the past, it would take them several hours or even half a month to complete such a task. Unlike many countries' launch pads, which are typically located along coastlines, China's major launch sites are deep inland, which means its rockets always fly directly over densely populated areas. Therefore, after launches, rocket boosters and other pieces will fall back to the ground, threatening local communities. This year the country will continue to see intensive space launches. How to make the rocket debris recovery precise and controllable has become an urgent problem for Chinese scientists. According to Yao Shengsheng, head of the system development team, after the rocket boosters were separated on March 9 in the latest BeiDou satellite launch mission, equipment in the center immediately received the boosters' falling trajectory data. The system then quickly calculated and located the drop point.

"It was the first time the system realized real-time data reception, processing and display of rocket debris in a mission," Yao said.

"The system is a breakthrough and will provide technical support for staff to quickly find falling boosters," Yao said.

The Xichang center, which administers the Xichang and Wenchang launch sites, is located in mountainous Sichuan Province. It will undertake about 20 missions in 2020, including the maiden flight of the Long March-5B rocket, the launch of China's first Mars probe and the completion of the BeiDou-3 Navigation Satellite System.

China launches new BeiDou navigation satellite

China launched a new satellite of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 7:55 p.m. Monday (Beijing Time), only one step away from completing the whole global system. The satellite, the 54th of the BeiDou family, was sent into a geostationary orbit as planned by a Long March-3B carrier rocket. China began to construct its navigation system, named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper constellation, in the 1990s and started serving the Asia-Pacific Region in 2012. At present, all the first generation BDS-1 satellites have ended operations, and a total of 54 BDS-2 and BDS-3 satellites have been sent into space. Compared with other navigation systems in the world, the design of the BDS constellation is unique, including medium earth orbit, inclined geosynchronous earth orbit and geostationary earth orbit satellites. The BDS-3 system will consist of a total of 30 satellites, including 24 medium earth orbit satellites, three geostationary earth orbit satellites and three inclined geosynchronous earth orbit satellites. The newly launched satellite is the second geostationary earth orbit satellite of the BDS-3 system, and the last one is expected to be launched in May. The satellite and the carrier rocket were developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, respectively.

Space engineers have overcome difficulties during the novel coronavirus epidemic to ensure the success of the mission.

Monday's launch was the 327th mission of the Long March rocket series.

The new satellite has the most functions and signals, the largest size and the longest designed life span among all the BDS-3 satellites, said Chen Zhonggui, chief designer of BDS-3 satellites from CAST.

The satellite is based on the Dongfanghong-3B platform, currently one of the largest satellite platforms being used in China, and can carry more fuels to ensure its long life, said Chen.

The satellite has integrated the functions of navigation and communication. The accuracy of dynamic positioning can reach the decimeter level, according to Liu Tianxiong, deputy chief designer of BDS-3 satellites.

It can provide services for the driverless vehicles, accurate berthing of ships, as well as takeoff and landing of airplanes. It will be widely used in the fields of communication, electric power, finance, mapping, transportation, fishery, agriculture and forestry.

The ability of short message communication has been improved 10 times on this satellite. Users can send a message of over 1,000 Chinese characters at one time as well as pictures via the satellite, quite useful in emergencies.

The satellite's ability to receive signals has also been greatly improved, which could help miniaturize users' terminals, said Pan Yuqian, one of the satellite's designers.

China aims to complete the construction of the BDS constellation in May and provide high-precision, reliable positioning, navigation and timing services anywhere in the world.

China launches new twin BeiDou navigation satellites

China on Saturday successfully sent twin BeiDou navigation satellites into space on a single carrier rocket. The Long March-3B carrier rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 7:52 a.m.. It was the 283rd mission of the Long March rocket series, said a source of the launch center. The twin satellites entered orbit more than three hours after the launch. After a series of tests, they will work together with 10 other BeiDou-3 satellites already in orbit. The twin satellites were developed by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper, the BeiDou system started serving China in 2000 and the Asia-Pacific region in 2012.