Author Topic: Kuaizhou, Kuaizhou-1 launch, Jiuquan - September 25, 2013 (04:37 UTC)  (Read 86356 times)

Offline beidou

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Well take this with a bucket of salt, but someone posted on a Chinese spaceflight forum on some of the key parameters of the rocket and satellite:

- the rocket is launched on a 7-axle transport-erector launcher car (probably looks similar to the earlier photos that experts thought to be the car for the DF-41 ICBM)
- launch preparation time is only 12 hours
- Liftoff mass 30 tonnes
- LEO payload 400+ kg
- Nominal satellite working orbit at 300+ km altitude; requires propulsion for orbit keeping
- KZ-1's optical resolution is 1.2 m
- KZ-2, with a much higher resolution down to 0.3m, will be launched next year
- KZ-1 made orbital adjustments to observe the aftermaths of the Sep. 24 Pakistan earthquake, with satisfactory results

One note of interest is that per another Chinese forum member's observations, the orbital adjustments by KZ-1 on Sep. 27 did actually provide a straight down observation opportunity of Pakistan on Sep. 30; had it not done so it won't have any possible observation opportunity of the area till now within 45 degrees from the nadir.  ::)
Info from that forum is extremely unreliable...

Offline plutogno

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according to a French forum, this site is a repository of Kuaizhou images. can any Chinese speaker confirm?
http://www.nrscc.gov.cn/nrscc/kzyh/index.html

Offline Galactic Penguin SST

according to a French forum, this site is a repository of Kuaizhou images. can any Chinese speaker confirm?
http://www.nrscc.gov.cn/nrscc/kzyh/index.html

That's correct. Give me some time and I'll translate some of the descriptions of the photos already taken.

BTW apparently KZ-1 has a maximum resolution of 1.2 meters.
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Offline Galactic Penguin SST

Probably the first illustration of the KZ launch vehicle ever released......... by none other than its manufacturer CASIC!  8) 
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Offline anik

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We can see KZ-Y2 designation. Does it mean that the first KZ had Y1 and was launched in 2012? Or Y2 is not the serial number at all.

Offline Galactic Penguin SST

We can see KZ-Y2 designation. Does it mean that the first KZ had Y1 and was launched in 2012? Or Y2 is not the serial number at all.

Actually that's KZ-YZ - YZ presumably stands for yunzhai huojian - i.e. launch vehicle.
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Offline anik

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Actually that's KZ-YZ - YZ presumably stands for yunzhai huojian - i.e. launch vehicle

Okay, thanks!

Offline weedenbc

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Very interesting, thanks for this.

So if we go back to the very interesting photo of the rocket from the Kuaizhou back in September launch that Satori posted earlier in this thread:

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=32914.0;attach=546955;image

How sure are we that it's the same as this photo from CASIC? The first three sections of the rocket (between the horizontal stripes) look similar in length and ratios between each other, but it's hard to tell about the upper section. It appears to have been painted back (or another dark color) above the third horizontal stripe.  And it appears to be a different rocket than what was shown in the previous photos presumed to be the KT-1:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=32914.0;attach=544586;image

I'm curious about people's thoughts on the launch platform the Kuaizhou seems to be going off in the image from September. It looks like the rocket is shorter and narrower than the platform, and it looks like the platform has a conical shape to the upper edge. It's not clear if that's the rocket's nosecone or the platform it's on. It doesn't appear to me that the rocket is that tall (based off the CASIC photos) but I guess it could be.

It's clearly a different rocket than the DF-21C used here, but the overall silhouette of the launching platform with rocket attached is very similar to that of the raised DF-21C TEL:



What impact does the differences in sizes of the stages of the image released by CASIC have on the theory that this is somehow derived from the DF-21 program?
« Last Edit: 01/15/2014 02:09 pm by Chris Bergin »
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Brian Weeden

Offline Chris Bergin

Careful not to embed images that are too wide for the page. Best thing is to attach them, but if you want the post to be text/photo/text, then make sure you reduce the image or just link.
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Online Satori

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Probably the first illustration of the KZ launch vehicle ever released......... by none other than its manufacturer CASIC!  8) 

So this is an illustration and not a photo of the real launch.

Offline Skyrocket

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Probably the first illustration of the KZ launch vehicle ever released......... by none other than its manufacturer CASIC!  8) 

So this is an illustration and not a photo of the real launch.

It is an artist impression.

Offline anik

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Let's compare photos of KZ launch pad after "launch" on March 17, 2012 and photos after launch on September 25, 2013.
You can see clear traces from tires of mobile car and clear traces from rocket's flame on photos made on October 9 and December 13, 2013 (after a launch on September 25, 2013).
But you can see only clear traces from tires of mobile car on photos made on March 25 and 28, 2012 (after a "launch" on March 17, 2012). There are not traces from rocket's flame on them.
So I think there was not a launch in March 2012.
Or maybe Chinese have cleaned traces from rocket's flame on the launch pad... ;)

Offline weedenbc

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I somehow missed the March 2012 launch. Does someone have a link about what happened and what the speculation is?

Also I  just wanted to let everyone know that I recently published an in-depth analysis of the mysterious May 2013 "sounding rocket" launch from Xichang in which I conclude it was likely an ASAT test. Moreover, the Kuaizhou launch vehicle may be a candidate for that launch as well:

http://swfound.org/media/167224/Through_a_Glass_Darkly_March2014.pdf
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Offline anik

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I somehow missed the March 2012 launch. Does someone have a link about what happened and what the speculation is?

See first posts in this thread.

And here too: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=28364.0;all
« Last Edit: 03/27/2014 12:47 pm by anik »

Offline anik

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Let's compare photos of KZ launch pad after "launch" on March 17, 2012 and photos after launch on September 25, 2013.
You can see clear traces from tires of mobile car and clear traces from rocket's flame on photos made on October 9 and December 13, 2013 (after a launch on September 25, 2013).
But you can see only clear traces from tires of mobile car on photos made on March 25 and 28, 2012 (after a "launch" on March 17, 2012). There are not traces from rocket's flame on them.
So I think there was not a launch in March 2012.
Or maybe Chinese have cleaned traces from rocket's flame on the launch pad... ;)

Nobody is interested? Okay.

Online Satori

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Let's compare photos of KZ launch pad after "launch" on March 17, 2012 and photos after launch on September 25, 2013.
You can see clear traces from tires of mobile car and clear traces from rocket's flame on photos made on October 9 and December 13, 2013 (after a launch on September 25, 2013).
But you can see only clear traces from tires of mobile car on photos made on March 25 and 28, 2012 (after a "launch" on March 17, 2012). There are not traces from rocket's flame on them.
So I think there was not a launch in March 2012.
Or maybe Chinese have cleaned traces from rocket's flame on the launch pad... ;)

Nobody is interested? Okay.

Good point Andrey. The March 2012 launch was always in doubt about his existence. Maybe they have put the rocket on the launch complex, but something didn't work our even before the launchers ignition.

(Ok, lets change the launch tables again!!!)

Offline anik

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Ok, lets change the launch tables again!!!

Do not hurry, Rui!

Maybe they have put the rocket on the launch complex, but something didn't work our even before the launchers ignition

Maybe, but why there are those traces from tires?

Offline jcm

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Thought it might be of interest to note an update on the Kuaizhou-1 satellite after almost 9 months in orbit.
It made its 14th orbit maintenance burn on Jun 3 and remains orbiting in a band between 262 x 292 km and 290 x 330 km.
(orbit on Jun 13 was 286 x 308 km).
-----------------------------

Jonathan McDowell
http://planet4589.org

Offline Skyrocket

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I found this illustration, which allegedly shows Kuaizhou-1.

It shows a striking resemblance to NASA's WIRE small explorer satellite, so i am not sure about is authenticity. But on the other hand, the service module is nearly the same as that shown on the Kuaizhou-2 illustration (see Kuaizhou-2 thread), although with a different imaging payload.
« Last Edit: 09/01/2015 07:01 am by Skyrocket »

Offline Nordren

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