Closely following the
heart-stopping and spectacular launch of the Shenzhou-13 manned
spacecraft on Saturday, China has made another breakthrough in its
aerospace technology, as researchers at the Academy of Aerospace Solid
Propulsion Technology (AASPT) announced on Tuesday they conducted a
successful running test of a domestically developed solid rocket engine,
with a thrust of more than 500 tons, in Xi'an, capital of Northwest
China's Shaanxi Province, setting a world record in the field,
The Americans and British accuse China of being “warlike.” Isn’t this funny?
https://youtu.be/xyxCClqEX9U
“Warlike” is a new label given to China by the US and the West. This label is based on imaginations and misinterpretations of China’s behavior. New China has not made any new territorial claims.
China Tested New Space Capability With Hypersonic Missile
https://youtu.be/MnVS6sFQCqE
China in August launched a nuclear-capable missile that circled the Earth at low orbit before descending toward its target.
What we are defending is national sovereignty and territorial integrity
https://youtu.be/EzCP3cY5CYs
Sources say Long March rocket launches are usually announced, though the August test was kept under wraps. (Reuters pic)
WASHINGTON: China has tested a new space capability with a hypersonic missile, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
The report, citing multiple sources familiar with the test, said Beijing in August launched a nuclear-capable missile that circled the earth at low orbit before descending toward its target, which three sources said it missed by over 32km.
FT sources said the hypersonic glide vehicle was carried by a Long March rocket, launches of which it usually announces, though the August test was kept under wraps.
The report added that China’s progress on hypersonic weapons “caught US intelligence by surprise”.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said he would not comment on the specifics of the report but added: “We have made clear our concerns about the military capabilities China continues to pursue, capabilities that only increase tensions in the region and beyond. That is one reason why we hold China as our number one pacing challenge.”
Along with China, the US, Russia and at least five other countries are working on hypersonic technology.
Hypersonic missiles, like traditional ballistic missiles which can deliver nuclear weapons, can fly at more than five times the speed of sound.
But ballistic missiles fly high into space in an arc to reach their target, while a hypersonic flies on a trajectory low in the atmosphere, potentially reaching a target more quickly.
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Crucially, a hypersonic missile is manoeuvrable (like the much slower, often subsonic cruise missile), making it harder to track and defend against.
While countries like the US have developed systems designed to defend against cruise and ballistic missiles, the ability to track and take down a hypersonic missile remains a question
China has been aggressively developing the technology, seeing it as crucial to defend against US gains in hypersonic and other technologies, according to a recent report by the US Congressional Research Service (CRS).
The reported test comes as US-China tensions have mounted and Beijing has stepped up military activity near Taiwan, the self-ruling US-aligned democracy that Beijing considers a province awaiting reunification. -
AFP
China denies it recently tested hypersonic missile
https://youtu.be/-K_fBD508Yo
West-hyped ‘nuclear-capable hypersonic missile’ is a spacecraft in reusability test; peaceful use of space stressed: Chinese FM
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian
It was a routine spacecraft experiment to test the technology of spacecraft reusability, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Monday, responding to the Western media hyping of what they claimed China's launch of a "nuclear-capable hypersonic missile" in August.
Zhao made the remarks on Monday during a regular press conference. He was commenting on a Financial Times report that said China launched such a missile which circled the globe before speeding toward its target. The report said the test demonstrated "an advanced space capability that caught US intelligence by surprise."
The report cited "five people familiar with the test" who said the Chinese military launched a rocket that carried a hypersonic glide vehicle which flew through low-orbit space before cruising down toward its target.
Zhao said it was a regular test of the technology of spacecraft reusability, which carries significance to lower the cost of the use of spacecraft, and is expected to offer mankind a new way of affordable and convenient space travel.
Many firms in the world have conducted similar experiments and the separating part of the spacecraft was its accessory part, and it would burn and break up in the atmosphere and the debris would fall into international waters, Zhao said.
China will work with other countries for the peaceful use of space for the benefit of mankind, Zhao noted.
The three taikonauts onboard the Shenzhou-13 spaceship entered the country's space station core module Tianhe on Saturday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
After Shenzhou-13 successfully completed a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the orbiting Tianhe module, the Shenzhou-13 crew Zhai Zhigang,Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu entered the orbital capsule of Tianhe, marking the country's second crew to have entered China's Tianhe space station core cabin.
Just like everyone else when they first enter their new home, the first thing that the Shenzhou-13 crew did was to check out their sweet cozy bedrooms and connect to the Wi-Fi. A livestream video shows that Zhai, who was the first to enter, was so involved and excited to settle in that he was floating upside down in the air. The three then set up the wireless headphones for space-Earth talks.
After a brief conversation reporting their safety to the ground control center, the crew will soon have their very first lunch in their new home, Yang Liwei, director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office and the country's first astronaut said.
Among the three new residents, there are the country's first spacewalker Zhai Zhigang, first female taikonaut to have stepped inside its own space station Wang Yaping, and first taikonaut who was trained in an international space agency Ye Guangfu. They will stay in space for six months, double the time of the Shenzhou-12 crew.
They are expected to return to earth in April 2022, which means they will celebrate a special, unforgettable Chinese Lunar New Year in space.
They are tasked to carry out two to three extravehicular activities, better known as spacewalks. Wang Yaping will participate in at least one spacewalk, becoming the first Chinese woman to achieve such a feat, the Global Times learned from mission insiders.
According to the CMSA, they are also expected to install transfer gears linking the big and small robotic arms and related suspension gears for future construction work.
The Shenzhou-13 manned spacecraft successfully docked with China's Tianhe space station core cabin on Saturday early morning, after quick automated rendezvous, or as researchers call it, the 'space waltz.'
The rendezvous and docking happened at 6:56 am on Saturday morning, six and a half hours after traveling on a Long March-2F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu Province, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said in a statement sent to the Global Times.
Docked at the bottom of the Tianhe core cabin from a radial direction, the spacecraft safely and smoothly delivered the second batch of residents to China's space station.
A combination flight has been formed, consisting of the Tianhe core cabin at the center, and Shenzhou-13 manned craft, Tianzhou-2 and -3 cargo craft on the side, the CMSA said.
According to the spacecraft developers with the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), they have designed a new rendezvous path and circling flight mode to support fast-docking in the radial direction.
As beautiful as the "space waltz" was, it was a lot more difficult than the front and rear docking with the Tianhe core cabin as the Shenzhou-12, Tianzhou-2 and -3 missions had exercised. "For front and rear dockings, there is a 200-meter holding point for the craft, enabling them to maintain a stable attitude in orbit even when engines are not working. However, radial rendezvous does not have such a midway stopping point, and it requires continuous attitude and orbit control," the CAST said in a note to the Global Times.
It added that during the radial rendezvous, the spacecraft needs to turn from level flight to vertical flight with a wide range of attitude maneuvers, posing tough challenges for the "eyes" of the craft to see the target in time and ensure that the "eyes" will not be disturbed by complex lighting changes.
The success of this new docking method would be another sign of China's spacecraft docking capabilities, experts noted.
China urged relevant foreign space agencies and
organizations to pay attention to the data on the Chinese spacecraft
that are kept updated on the website of the China Manned Space Agency
(CMSA) to avoid possible space collisions and ensure
The three taikonauts onboard the Shenzhou-13 spaceship entered
China's space station core module Tianhe on Saturday. The entire nation
was watching and felt a shared sense of national pride. One after
another, the country's major achievements are reshaping the feeling of
being a Chinese.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian
Shenzhou-13 crew
