AKA: 509th Research Institute;CALT;CASC;SAST;Shanghai Inst of Satellite Engineering. Location: Shanghai.
Country: China. 1999 October 14 - . 03:15 GMT - . Launch Site: Taiyuan. Launch Complex: Taiyuan LC1. LV Family: CZ. Launch Vehicle: Chang Zheng 4B.China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite. China's first earth resources satellite, known as ZY-1, weighed 1,540 kilograms. Chief designer was Chen Yiyuan. The satellite, a joint project of China and Brazil, was designed to gather information on the environment, agriculture and urban planning through remote sensing images and data transmitted to China, Brazil and other countries. Planned lifetime was two years. The satellite circled the Earth 14 times a day and the groundtrack repeated after 26 days. By 23 February 2000 it had taken more than 20,000 high quality images. It was formally handed over for operational use on March 2 2000. The High Resolution CCD Camera had a resolution of 20 meters in the visible spectrum. The camera could point up to 32 degrees to either side of vertical, imaging the earth's surface stereoscopically. After 177 days the Wide Field Imager failed in early May 2000. Other devices, including the high resolution CCD camera, continue to work normally.
First Chinese military communications satellite. First of the Feng Huo series for secure digital data and voice tactical military communications. Stationed at 98 deg E. The first in a planned constellation of satellites to be launched through 2010. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 98 deg E in 2000. As of 5 September 2001 located at 98.03 deg E drifting at 0.005 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 97.95E drifting at 0.009W degrees per day.
The ZY-2 (Ziyuan-2 ('Resource-2'), while disguised as a civilian earth monitoring system, was actually code-named Jianbing-3 and was China's first high-resolution military imaging satellite. The cover story of the official Xinhua news agency was that the civilian remote sensing system would be used primarily in territorial surveying, city planning, crop yield assessment, disaster monitoring and space science experimentation. However the satellite was placed at a much lower altitude than the ZY-1 satellite and US intelligence sources indicated that it was a photo-reconnaissance satellite for exclusively military purposes, such as targeting missiles at US and Taiwanese forces. The new satellite was believed to employ digital-imaging technology and to have a resolution of 2 m or less. The satellite was designed and built by the Chinese Academy of Space Technology and was developed indigenously. It was said to be more advanced than earlier sensing satellites and was expected to have an orbital life of two years. The camera provided more than three times the resolution of the ZY-1 earth resources satellite. The Zi Yuan 2 satellite may have used the CBERS Sino-Brazilian bus of the earlier ZY-1. However it was also said to be of new design and demonstrated the capability to maneuver in orbit, adjusting its orbit after launch. In October 2000 Chinese scientists denied that the ZY-2 satellite had a military mission. It was said to be a remote-sensing satellite equipped with CCD cameras and an infrared multispectral scanner that could only identify objects on the ground with a resolution of several dozen meters to 1 km.
Navigation satellite, joined Beidou 1A and 1B launched in December 2000. This third satellite was considered a back-up element, Positioned at 110 deg E, still maintaining its position within 0.1 deg as of 2007. Retired after launch of the Beidou-2 geosynchronous satellites in 2010.
The Shenzhou 5 orbital module was essential an unmanned military reconnaisance satellite. It was never entered by the astronaut during the mission, and was equipped with two high resolution (1.6 m) surveillance cameras. It was expected to operate until at least spring 2004.
Recoverable satellite officially stated to be conducting space scientific research, land surveying, mapping and other scientific experiments. Said to have improved experimental technology, with higher orientation precision and more complex on-board computers and software. Controlled from the Xian Satellite Monitoring and Control Centre. Successfully re-entered and recovered after 27 days in space at 23:55 GMT on 24 September.
It was announced that the two satellites had a design life of at least two years, and would be used to probe the space environment, radiation and its effects, record space physical environment parameters, and conduct other related space experiments. The two satellites were built by the Shanghai Academy of Space Flight Technology and Dongfanghong Satellite Company under subcontract to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The scientific instruments aboard the satellites were mainly manufactured by the China Electronics Technology Corporation. Some Western observors believed the mission of the satellites included electronic intelligence technology tests.
Third Fengyun-2 weather satellite. The apogee motor placed the satellite into a drifting geostationary orbit. As of the date of the launch, four FY-2 satellites had been launched. FY-2 01 was destroyed in a ground fire 1994. FY-2 02 / FY-2A was placed in reserve in May 2000 86 deg E; and FY-2 03 / FY-2B was operational at 123 deg E. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 104.44E drifting at 0.026W degrees per day.
Moved up from October 13. Second Chinese manned space mission. The two-astronaut crew spent 5 days in space, and worked in the Shenzhou orbital module for the first time. Aside from biomedical experiments, the nature of their work was not divulged, and few images of the interior of the orbital module (with its probable military experiments) were released.
First DH-4 heavy Chinese communication satellite with communications equipment provided by Alcatel Alenia. Mission failed when solar panels and antennae failed to deploy in geosynchronous orbit. This was a blow to China's prestige, since the satellite was an important part of the 2008 Beijing Olympics coverage plans. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 91.80E drifting at 0.093W degrees per day.
Fourth Wind and Cloud 2 geostationary weather satellite with an infrared radiometer as its primary instrument. The booster placed the spacecraft in a 226 x 36221 km x 24.9 deg geosynchronous transfer orbit. The FG-36 solid apogee motor aboard the satellite burned at 18:07 GMT and placed the FY-2D into an initial 35786 x 36478 km x 2.6 deg geosynchronous drift orbit.
Navigation satellite. It did not reach geostationary orbit until early April following deployment problems with its solar panels and reports of US detection of a debris cloud at the time of the original expected apogee firing. As of 2010 reported to have suffered a control failure.
Third China-Brazil joint earth resources satellite. Much higher resolution optics and multispectral sensors expected to be useful for some military applications as well. The satellite raised its orbit to its operational altitude of 773 km two days after launch.
China's first unmanned lunar/planetary probe. The initial orbit of 221 x 50,602 km x 31.0 deg was raised to a translunar trajectory by 31 October in a serious of spacecraft engine burns. The spacecraft entered a 210 km x 8600 km lunar orbit at 03:37 GMT on 5 November.
China's first in a series of new data relay satellites, and the first launch of the CZ-3C, a variant of the Long March with two liquid strap-ons. The satellite will relay data from Chinese manned and military satellites, beginning with the Shenzhou mission, from geostationary orbit at 77 deg E. Configuration unknown, but possibly based on the DFH-4 platform.
Third Chinese manned space mission. The crew consisted of Zhai Zhigang, backup astronaut for China's first manned space mission; and Liu Buoming and Jing Haipeng, backups for the second mission. The astronauts demonstrated the capability of the Shenzhou spacecraft to carry its full complement of three crew for the first time. Zhai, wearing a Chinese-developed Feitian space suit, emerged from the orbital module of the Shenzhou and became China's first astronaut to conduct a spacewalk. Liu, wearing a proven Russian Orlan spacesuit, remained in the depressurized orbital module, ready to assist Zhai in an emergency. A subsatellite, weighing 40 kg, was released after the EVA, and relayed back images of Shenzhou 7 from close range to a distance of several kilometers. The crew returned safely to earth in a pinpoint landing in Outer Mongolia, carried live on television. The orbital module remained in space, conducting space network experiments with the subsatellite.
One of the two different series of military surveillance satellites launched under the YW designation, although YW 5 was in a lower orbit similar to the ZY-2 satellites, lower than previous YW satellites. The launch vehicle was announced as a CZ-4B, but appeared to be a CZ-4B with the CZ-4C's restartable YF-40A upper stage under the larger CZ-4C nose fairing.
China's second lunar orbiter, retasked to an interplanetary explorer. Entered a 119 x 8599 km lunar orbit on 1 October at 03:14 GMT. By 9 October it had maneuvered to its operational 100-km circular lunar orbit. On 9 June 2011, its lunar mission complete, it was maneuvered out of lunar orbit, and arrived at the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrangian point on 25 August 2011. It then followed the interplanetary gravitational superhighway to a 1.02 AU x 1.03 AU x 0.2 deg solar orbit, leading to a flyby of the asteroid Toutatis on 13 December 2012 at 08:30 GMT. It came within 3.2 km of the planetoid and returned detailed images.
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