Xinhua on Twitter is reporting the successful launch of a Kunpeng-1B sounding rocket from Hainan island
So they are getting range practice with sounding rockets before orbital launches like they do in Alcantara?
Quote from: baldusi on 04/27/2016 11:25 amSo they are getting range practice with sounding rockets before orbital launches like they do in Alcantara?AFAIK, the Hainan sounding rocket site is not the Wenchang orbital launch site. The sounding rockets are launched near the city of Danzhou.
Quote from: Skyrocket on 04/27/2016 04:13 pmQuote from: baldusi on 04/27/2016 11:25 amSo they are getting range practice with sounding rockets before orbital launches like they do in Alcantara?AFAIK, the Hainan sounding rocket site is not the Wenchang orbital launch site. The sounding rockets are launched near the city of Danzhou.Good point. But not that near Danzhou, if the NOTAM at http://www.chinaspaceflight.com/sounding-rocket/2016-04-27.html is to be believed: 19 31 N 109 07 E near the town of Xifangcun.There's really not much near those coordinates, but a sounding rocket site doesn't have to be big.There's a location at 19 31 49 N 109 07 26 E which has something that could be the assemblybuilding and the antenna seen in the background of some of the pictures. It's been substantiallydeveloped since an earlier Google image in 2003 and indeed the only picture I have of the ZN-1 launchesshow a mobile trailer and a very bare site.
A1466/16 - A TEMPORARY RESTRICTED AREA ESTABLISHED BOUNDED BY: N401808E0944257-N404248E0982052-N410926E1054055-N410453E1073638-N40 5513E1084226-N400814E0955838 BACK TO START. VERTICAL LIMITS:GND-UNL. GND - UNL, 26 JUN 07:17 2016 UNTIL 26 JUN 07:50 2016. CREATED: 22 JUN 06:36 2016