TC-1 Satellite
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Satellite set to rewrite Chinese space history
Space scientists in China and Europe will look skywards for their "Christmas presents" this year, with their first satellite under the Double Star Project due for lift-off in late December. The satellite -- which will study the effects of the Sun on the Earth's environment -- is ready for launch next month, the China National Space Administration said Thursday. Satellite set to rewrite Chinese space history A Long March 3-A carrier rocket blasts off into the sky from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China's Sichuan Province early Saturday morning, carrying Zhongxing-20 communication satellite. It is the fourth launch within a month after China's first manned space flight on Oct. 15 and 16. [Xinhua] It will fly as far as 66,970 kilometres from the Earth, further than any other in China's space history, according to Liu Zhenxing, chief scientist of the project. The satellite, codenamed TC-1, is one of two to be sent into orbit under the Sino-European venture. "The first of the duo geospace exploration satellites and an improved Long March 2C rocket have met all the design requirements and are ready for lift-off,'' said Sun Laiyan, vice-director of the space agency. Liu said the mission will probe and predict more precisely geospace storms that could threaten spacecraft safety. Liu proposed the Double Star initiative in 1997. It became a joint project between China's space agency and the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2001, when the two signed an agreement in Paris. By launching two satellites by mid-2004, Chinese and European scientists hope the Double Star Project will operate alongside four satellites from Cluster II project, which the ESA started in 2000 to study how solar winds affect the Earth. Solar winds, the perpetual stream of subatomic particles given out by the Sun, can damage satellites and disrupt communications and power systems on Earth, scientists said. The Europeans provided eight instruments identical to those on the four Cluster spacecraft to the Double Star mission, and will support their operation, said ESA Cluster Project Scientist Philippe Escoubet. It is the first time European experiments will be carried out on Chinese satellites, according to Liu. "Double Star will be a major contribution to Cluster and will enhance greatly its scientific output,'' Escoubet said in a telephone interview with China Daily from the Netherlands yesterday. "With Cluster we have four points to measure the Sun-Earth connection. With Double Star we will have two additional points. We will be able to study the magnetic substorms in great detail -- close to the Earth with Double Star and further away with Cluster.'' The project will enhance both sides' knowledge of the magnetosphere -- the magnetic "bubble'' that surrounds the Earth, Liu and Escoubet said. Double Star marked the start of collaboration between ESA and China's space agency, according to Escoubet. Other joint projects launched since then include the Galileo programme, which is the European equivalent of the American Global Positioning System. A special office was created in Beijing for this programme, Escoubet said.
China launches scientific satellite
The first of two scientific satellites known as Double Star was blasted off into orbit early this morning from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Southwest China. China launches scientific satellite A Long March 2C/SM carrier rocket blasts off into sky at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, carrying a high-altitude satellite into orbit early Tuesday morning. The launch marked the beginning of substantial China-Europe collaboration in geospace exploration. It also capped a bonanza year of space activities in China, which saw a record six satellites and a manned spacecraft fly into orbits between May and December. The Equatorial-orbiting satellite of the Double Star Programme was launched at 3:06 am yesterday atop Long March 2C/SM rocket, said a spokesman at the Xichang centre. An improved version of the Long March 2C, the Long March 2C/SM contains multiple technological breakthroughs to ensure a steady rocket attitude-adjusting system and higher reliability, said the spokesman. At 3:18 am, the satellite, Probe-1 or TC-1, was sent into its preset elliptical orbit ranging from 555 kilometres and 78,051 kilometres from the Earth, making it the farthest operational spacecraft China has ever catapulted into space, according to the spokesman. Extending his congratulations to Chinese scientists, David Southwood, director of Scientific Programme of the European Space Agency (ESA), said the launch will herald further international co-operation between China and Europe in space exploration. "The year 2003 is a year of miracles for China," he said. "We'll see what we could do together after this launch." Probe-1 is expected to fly for one and a half years in space to study the effects of the Sun on the Earth's environment, and in particular the 'magnetotail,' where storms of high-energy particles are generated, according to Zhang Yongwei, chief engineer of the Double Star project. The launch was the 75th flight of Chinese made Long March rockets. It is also the country's 33rd straight successful space mission since 1996. "The successful launch of Probe-1 has further testified the reliability and progress of China's space technology," said Zhang Qingwei, President of the China Aerospace Technology Corp. Probe-1 was designed and developed jointly by Chinese Academy of Space technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and eight European institutions. The "equatorial" satellite will be followed by a polar-range satellite (Probe-2), which is scheduled to be launched in June from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in North China's Shanxi Province, according to Zhang. The project was initiated by Chinese scientist Liu Zhenxing in 1997. It has drawn keen interest from the international geophysics community. ESA is contributing to this Double Star mission by providing eight on-board scientific instruments -- five on Probe-1 and three on Probe-2. It is the first time Chinese hardware and the European equipment are wired together, Liu said. By combining the Double Star satellites and the mini-flotilla of four identical spacecraft the European agency launched in 2000 in its Cluster II Programme, scientists will for the first time in history be able to probe space from a six-dimensional perspective, Liu said.
New chapter opens in Sino-European space co-op
Sino-European space co-operation took a major step forward Tuesday with the launch of the first of two "Double Star" scientific satellites early Tuesday morning from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Southwest China. The launch ended a landmark year for China's space programme, with the nation's first man in space and a record six satellites blasted into orbit. New chapter opens in Sino-European space co-op Probe-1, the first of the two scientific satellites of Sino-European Double Star programme blasts off into space Tuesday morning from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Southwest China. The satellite will orbit the Equator and is the farthest operational spacecraft China has ever catapulted into space. [Newsphoto.com.cn] The satellite, which will orbit the Equator, was launched at 3:06 am yesterday on a Long March 2C/SM rocket, said a spokesman at the Xichang centre. An improved version of the Long March 2C, the Long March 2C/SM contains multiple technological improvements in order to ensure a steady rocket attitude-adjusting system and higher reliability, said the spokesman. At 3:18 am, the satellite, Probe-1 or TC-1, was sent into its preset elliptical orbit ranging from 555 kilometres and 78,051 kilometres from the Earth, making it the farthest operational spacecraft China has ever catapulted into space, according to the spokesman. Extending his congratulations to Chinese scientists, David Southwood, director of the Scientific Programme of the European Space Agency (ESA), said he anticipated the launch will be followed by further Sino-European space co-operation. "The year 2003 was a year of miracles for China," he said. "We'll see what we could do together after this launch." Probe-1 is expected to fly in space for 18 months to study the impact of the Sun on the Earth's environment, and in particular the magnetotail, where storms of high-energy particles are generated, according to Zhang Yongwei, chief engineer of the Double Star project. The launch was the 75th flight of Chinese-made Long March rockets. It is also the country's 33rd straight successful space mission since October 1996. "The successful launch of Probe-1 has further testified the reliability and maturity of China's space technology," said Zhang Qingwei, president of the China Aerospace Technology Corp. Probe-1 was designed and developed jointly by the Chinese Academy of Space Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and eight scientific research institutes from Europe. The "equatorial" satellite will be followed by a polar-range satellite (Probe-2), which is scheduled to be launched in mid-2004 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in North China's Shanxi Province, according to Zhang. The project was initiated by Chinese scientist Liu Zhenxing in 1997. It has attracted keen interest from the international geophysics community. The ESA is contributing to this Double Star mission by providing eight on-board scientific instruments -- five on Probe-1 and three on Probe-2. It is the first time Chinese hardware and European equipment have been wired together, Liu said. By combining the Double Star satellites and the mini-flotilla of four identical spacecraft the European agency launched in 2000 in its Cluster II Programme, scientists will be able to probe space from a six-dimensional perspective, the first time this has ever been possible, Liu said.
Knowledge Graph
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1 The carrier rocket, Long March 2C/SM, and the satellite - Probe-1 (codenamed TC-1) - are technically ready for the mission scheduled for late today or tomorrow, the China National Space Administration said over the weekend.
2 Double Star is a joint satellite based space mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA). It is the first space mission launched by China to investigate Earth's magnetosphere. It consists of two satellites: an Equatorial satellite (TC-1) and Polar satellite (TC-2).
3 TC-1 was launched into an equatorial elliptical orbit of 570 x 78 970 km with inclination 28.5° to the equator from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. This apogee of this mission was the deepest into space China had ever sent a spacecraft at that time.