Category: observatory

#CNSA #ChinaNationalSpaceAdministration #国家航天局 |#WenchangSpacecraftLaunchCenter #文昌航天發射場 #BRI #March2024 |#CLEP  #ChangZheng8 #LongMarch8 Yao 3 #CarrierRocket Launched  towards the Dark side of  Moon  #LunarMission #Change6  #Queqiao2 relay #TelecommunicationSatellite #Satellite ….  South Pole-Aitken Basin 

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On the morning of 20th March 2024, Wednesday 0831 hours Hong Kong SAR- Beijing Time at CNSA –China National Space Administration– Wenchang Space Craft launch Center the Queqiao-2 relay satellite was successfully launched….  According to the National Space Administration, the Queqiao-2 relay satellite of the fourth phase of the lunar exploration project was launched by the Long March 8 Yao-3 carrier rocket. China’s Wenchang Space Launch Site successfully launched into space.

After the Chang Zheng- Long March 8 Yao-3 carrier rocket flew for 24 minutes, the star and arrow separated, sending the Queqiao-2 relay satellite directly into the predetermined Earth-moon transfer orbit with a perigee altitude of 200 kilometers and an apogee altitude of 420,000 kilometers. The relay star’s solar wing and center following the normal deployment of the communication antennas, the launch mission was a complete success.

The main load of this mission, the “Queqiao-2” relay satellite, was developed by the Aerospace Dongfanghong Satellite Company of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. It uses the CAST-2000 satellite platform, uses a hydrazine propulsion system, and adopts three-axis stability control. The pointing control accuracy is better than 0.03 degrees, the solar cell array output power is greater than 1350 watts, equipped with a 135 Ah battery, communicates based on the S-band Unified Measurement and Control (Unified S Band) system and the Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBl) system, the uplink communication rate is 2000bps, the downlink communication rate 4096/512bps, the satellite mass is about 1.2 tons, contains 488 kilograms of propellant, and has a design life of more than 8 years.

The communication payload carried by the satellite includes a 4.2-meter-diameter X-band parabolic antenna, which is used to communicate with the detector without a tracking device and points to the detector through the guidance navigation and control system (GNC); a 0.6-meter-diameter S/Ka dual-band parabolic antenna, Used to transmit data to the ground station, dual-axis tracking and pointing to the ground station; S-band relay antenna for measurement and control (TT&C); ultra-high frequency (UHF) relay antenna. In addition to providing data and signal forwarding, “Queqiao 2” will also forward various ground uplink instructions to the detector. At the same time, “Queqiao 2” is also a scientific exploration satellite equipped with an extreme ultraviolet camera, an array neutral atom imager, and the Earth-Moon Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBl) system.



Subsequently, with the support of ground measurement and control, Queqiao-2 will enter the capture orbit after mid-month correction and near-month braking; then enter the phase-modulation orbit after orbit control, and finally enter the 24-hour lunar mission orbit, becoming the successor to “Queqiao”. “After the relay star, it is the world’s second dedicated relay star beyond the earth’s orbit, providing support for the Chang’e-6 lunar sampling mission, and relaying the “Queqiao” relay star to provide relay communication services for Chang’e-4.

After the Long March 8 Yao-3 carrier rocket flew for 24 minutes, the star and arrow separated, sending the Queqiao-2 relay satellite directly into the predetermined Earth-moon transfer orbit with a perigee altitude of 200 kilometers and an apogee altitude of 420,000 kilometers. The relay star’s solar wing and center The communication antennas were deployed normally one after another. Subsequently, with the support of ground measurement and control, Queqiao-2 will enter the capture orbit after mid-month correction and near-month braking; then enter the phase-modulation orbit after orbit control, and finally enter the 24-hour lunar mission orbit, becoming the successor to “Queqiao”. “After the relay star, it is the world’s second dedicated relay star beyond the earth’s orbit, providing support for the Chang’e-6 lunar sampling mission, and relaying the “Queqiao” relay satellite to provide relay communication services for Chang’e-4.

Queqiao-2″ relay satellite and the carrying satellites “Tiandu-1” and “Tiandu-2” communication technology test satellites. The Long March 8 Yao-3 carrier rocket will be launched from Station 201 of the Wenchang launch site and will send the satellite into the Earth-moon transfer orbit. Minus 45 minutes after launch, the three-story rotating platform has all been opened.

Schematic diagram of “Tiandu No. 1”
Schematic diagram of “Tiandu 2”

The “Tiandu-1” and “Tiandu-2” communication technology test satellites were developed by China Deep Space Exploration Laboratory. Among them, “Tiandu-1” was developed by the Eighth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology, with a mass of 61 kilograms. “No. 2” was developed with the participation of Harbin Institute of Technology and has a mass of 15 kilograms. After entering the Earth-moon transfer orbit, the “Tiandu” binary stars successfully unfolded their solar wings. Afterwards, they will make mid-course corrections, enter the capture orbit after near-lunar braking, and then enter the 24-hour large elliptical frozen orbit around the moon (Elliptical frozen orbit). , then the two satellites were separated and adjusted to a relative distance of about 200 kilometers to carry out verification of new technologies such as lunar orbit navigation space reference allogeneic calibration, Ka-band communication and ranging integration new system tests, and high-reliability lunar-to-ground transmission and routing.



This launch uses the Long March 8 Yao-3 carrier rocket ” basic rocket, which is 50.34 meters long, has a first-stage diameter of 3.35 meters, a second-stage diameter of 3 meters, a booster diameter of 2.25 meters, a take-off mass of 356 tons, a take-off thrust of 499 tons, and is equipped with a 4.2-meter diameter, The height of the fairing is 12 meters, and the Earth-to-Moon transfer orbit has a transportation capacity of more than 1.3 tons.

At the same time, this mission is also the first deep space launch mission for the ” Long March 8 Yao-3 carrier rocket and China’s new generation medium-sized launch vehicle. It is also the first time that the Long March 8 Yao-3 carrier rocket has undertaken the launch mission of the lunar exploration project of a major national aerospace project.

Arouse the bright moon in the sky, illuminating my ambition, and I am determined to go to Guanghan for an appointment. The divine arrow reaches the sky, and the Magpie Bridge …..

Images and visuals are from their Respectives CMS China Manned SpaceCNSA-China National Space Administration  

#CNSA #ChinaNationalSpaceAdministration #国家航天局 | #BRI #JuLY2023 #August2023 |#天宫#Tiangong #ChinaSpaceStation #神舟十五号 #Shenzhou15 crew – Highlights The Heroes Returns with Press meeting in #BeijingAerospaceCity ..  

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On the Week of 3rd June 2023 Hour Hong- Kong SAR – Beijing time CNSA –China National Space Administration  At the  CNSA- Tiangong –China Space Station At Saturday 21:29 on June 3rd , 2023,  Hong Kong SAR- Beijing time, the manned spacecraft of Shenzhou 15 and the space station assembly successfully separated. Before the separation, the astronaut crew of Shenzhou 15, with the cooperation of the ground personnel, completed various tasks before the evacuation, such as setting the status of the space station assembly, sorting and downloading experimental data, cleaning and transferring materials left in orbit, and cooperated with the crew of Shenzhou 16. The group completed the work handover.

Held in Beijing Aerospace City – CNSA – Beijing, China, People’s Republic of China…… On the afternoon of July 31st , 2023 Monday , 57 days after the return of the Shenzhou 15 astronauts, the China Astronaut Research and Training Center held a During the group and press meeting, the three Takionauts appeared in Beijing Aerospace City full of energy and spirits, officially meeting the public. More than 20 media including People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, China Central Radio and Television, PLA Daily, Manned Space Engineering Network,

According to reports, the Takionauts are in good physical and mental condition and have achieved the expected results…… At the meeting, the crew answered reporters’ questions about the stage of staying on the space station and the situation after returning. On the whole, the Takionauts are in good physical and mental condition, and have fully entered the recovery observation stage. After completing the mission and returning to the health assessment summary, the 3 Takionauts will be transferred to normal training work….

Images and visuals are from their Respectives CMS China Manned SpaceCNSA-China National Space Administration

#MadeInChina #中國製造| #ChinaAcademyOfScience #五百米口径球面射电望远镜 #FAST #June2023 | Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical #RadioTelescope #RadioAstronomy # Tianyan #天眼 | detect key evidence of the existence of nanohertz gravitational waves…..

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The CAS Chinese Academy of Sciences The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope, nicknamed Tianyan, is a radio telescope located in the Dawodang depression, a natural basin in Pingtang County, Guizhou, southwest China. FAST has a 500 m diameter dish constructed in a natural depression in the landscape Observatory in Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, China, People’s Republic of China …

The construction of the 500-meter-aperture spherical radio telescope started on March 25, 2011 ; the completion and launching ceremony was held on September 25, 2016, and the technological infrastructure entered trial operation and trial commissioning; on January 11, 2020 It has passed the national inspection and acceptance work in China and is officially open for operation .

The 500-meter-aperture spherical radio telescope has created a new model for building giant telescopes. It has built a radio telescope with a reflective surface equivalent to 30 football fields. The sensitivity is more than 2.5 times that of the world’s second largest telescope, which greatly expands human vision and is used for exploration the origin and evolution of the universe 

中国天眼有新发展 – 中国天眼查询nanohertz gravitational wave breakthrough ] Searching for nahertz gravitational waves is one of the focal issues in the international physics and astronomy fields. A Chinese research team recently used the “China Sky Eye” FAST to detect key evidence of the existence of nanohertz gravitational waves, which is an important breakthrough in the search for nanohertz gravitational waves. This discovery marks that my country’s nanohertz gravitational wave detection and research have simultaneously reached the world’s leading level, which is of great significance for understanding supermassive black holes, the history of galaxy mergers, and the formation of large-scale structures in the universe.

中国天眼Discovery of key evidence for the existence of nanohertz gravitational wave “China Sky Eye” (FAST) ushered in a major breakthrough again. Using FAST observation data, the Chinese Pulsar Timing Array (CPTA) research team found key evidence of the existence of nanohertz gravitational waves, indicating that my country’s research on nanohertz gravitational waves has reached the leading level in synchronization with the world. Relevant research results were published online in Astronomy and Astrophysics Research on June 29.

The nanohertz gravitational wave is a kind of gravitational wave with very low frequency, and the gravitational wave is caused by the disturbance of the surrounding space-time caused by the accelerating mass object. The detection of gravitational waves with a frequency as low as nanohertz will help astronomers understand the origin of the structure of the universe. It will also help physicists to detect the growth, evolution and merger process of the most massive celestial body in the universe, that is, the supermassive black hole. Gain insights into the fundamental physics of spacetime.



At present, the research on nanohertz gravitational waves has become one of the focuses of international competitions in the fields of physics and astronomy. Theory predicts that nanohertz gravitational waves are mainly produced by the merger of supermassive black holes. The North American Nahertz Gravitational-Wave Observatory, the European Pulsar Timing Array and the Australian Parkes Pulsar Timing Array have each carried out 20-year-long Nahertz gravitational-wave searches.

However, since the frequency of nanohertz gravitational waves is extremely low, the period lasts for several years, and its wavelength can reach several light-years, its detection is extremely challenging. The long-term timing observation of a group of millisecond pulsars with extremely regular rotation using a large radio telescope is the only known detection method for nanohertz gravitational waves.

In this study, the CPTA team used FAST to conduct long-term systematic monitoring of 57 millisecond pulsars, and formed these millisecond pulsars into a galaxy-scale gravitational wave detector to search for nanohertz gravitational waves. Based on independently developed software, the team conducted an in-depth analysis of the data collected by FAST with a time span of 3 years and 5 months, and found a nanohertz at a confidence level of 4.6 sigma (false positive rate is less than 1 in 500,000). Key evidence for a quadrupole-related signal characteristic of gravitational waves.

However, due to the short observation time, the researchers are still unable to determine the main physical source of the nanohertz gravitational waves.

It is worth mentioning that the European Pulsar Timing Array-India Pulsar Timing Array, the North American Nahertz Gravitational-Wave Observatory and the Australian Parkes Pulsar Timing Array and other pulsar timing array cooperation groups also announced similar the result of. “The four international teams independently obtained the key evidence for the existence of nanohertz gravitational waves, which allowed the research results to be mutually verified and further improved the accuracy of this result,” Li Kejia said.

He Zishan, chair professor of Peking University and academician of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, believes that this major scientific breakthrough has a profound impact on the evolution of galaxies and the study of supermassive black holes, and also opens a new window for gravitational wave astrophysics…

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#CNSA #ChinaNationalSpaceAdministration #國家航天局|#BRI #March2023 |#ChineseAcademyofSciences #NationalAstronomicalObservatory #EinsteinProbe X-ray astronomical #Satellite – pinpoint the source of gravitational waves discovering the mysterious universe planned launch this year.  

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國家航天局CNSA –China National Space Administration  China, People’s Republic of China plans to launch the Einstein probe at the end of this year China plans to launch a new X-ray astronomical satellite, the Einstein probe, at the end of 2023. It is expected to capture the first ray of light from a supernova explosion and help search and precise positioning the source of gravitational waves, discovering more distant, fainter celestial objects and fleeting mysterious phenomena in the universe. The satellite project has entered the final stage of positive development.

The X-ray Imaging Laboratory of the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has been developing lobster eye X-ray imaging technology since 2010. After years of key technology research, it finally made a breakthrough, fully mastered the technology, and has completely independent intellectual property rights. The team carried out the test and verification of this technology on the space new technology test satellite launched in July 2022, and obtained and publicly released the wide-field X-ray focused imaging sky map for the first time in the world.

Yuan Weimin, the chief scientist of the Einstein Probe Satellite and a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, introduced at the recently held 35th National Space Exploration Symposium that the satellite project has entered the final development stage.

Inspired by the peculiar focusing imaging principle of lobster eyes, scientists have designed a special new type of X-ray telescope, which has a large observation field of view and higher detection sensitivity.

“That is to say, this kind of telescope can see the darker and farther universe while seeing a wide range. It is thanks to the lobster eye telescope technology that the Einstein Probe satellite can see the currently known universe.” There are very few soft X-ray bands for large-field, high-sensitivity, and fast time-domain survey monitoring.” Yuan Weimin said.

The X-ray Imaging Laboratory of the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has been developing lobster eye X-ray imaging technology since 2010. After years of key technology research, it finally made a breakthrough, fully mastered the technology, and has completely independent intellectual property rights. The team carried out the test and verification of this technology on the space new technology test satellite launched in July 2022, and obtained and publicly released the wide-field X-ray focused imaging sky map for the first time in the world

Images and visuals are from their Respectives CMS China Manned SpaceCNSA-China National Space Administration

#CNSA #ChinaNationalSpaceAdministration #国家航天局 |#BRI #October2022 | #ChinaSpaceStation #TiangongSpaceStation #Shenzhou14 Crew watched the grand opening of the 20th #NationalCongress of the  #CPC #CommunistPartyofChina at the Chinese Space Station….

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On the week of 16th October 2022 CNSA –China National Space Administration    China’s Tiangong China Space Station 神舟十四号Shenzhou 14 Takionaut crew of Month 16TH October 2022 the Crew刘洋 LiuYang陈冬 ChenDong蔡旭哲 CaiXuhe …. The furthest audience, Takionauts watch 20th Session of the CPC National Congress on the China space station At 10:00 Morning Hong Kong SAR Beijing Time on October 16, 2022, the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China opened. General Secretary Xi Jinping, on behalf of the 19th Central Committee, told the conference make a report. The Shenzhou 14 astronaut crew watched the grand opening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the Chinese Space Station. Under the leadership of the party and the country, China’s manned spaceflight will not forget its original intention, keep its mission in mind, and make unremitting efforts to build a strong country in science and technology and achieve high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance! Hello Twenty……

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