Author Topic: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center  (Read 52931 times)

Offline anik

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #20 on: 11/17/2013 06:08 am »
Silo at 38°52'41.21" N, 111°35'32.53" E.

Offline anik

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #21 on: 11/17/2013 06:14 am »
Another one possible launch site at 38°50'25.72" N, 111°36'15.92" E (see attachment 1).
Again there are divertors there.
It was built in 2012-2013 (attachments 2-3).
« Last Edit: 11/17/2013 06:15 am by anik »

Offline anik

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #22 on: 03/27/2014 12:38 pm »
Photo is made on January 11, 2014.

You can see an erector for rocket on the third launch pad.
« Last Edit: 03/27/2014 12:43 pm by anik »

Offline Liss

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #23 on: 03/29/2014 02:21 pm »
And here's an image of this erector in use:
« Last Edit: 03/30/2014 06:15 pm by anik »
This message reflects my personal opinion based on open sources of information.

Offline weedenbc

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #24 on: 03/31/2014 01:21 pm »
NTI is going through and creating Google Earth flyovers of all the major space and missile launch sites. They haven't gotten to Taiyuan yet, but when they do it will be here:

http://www.nti.org/facilities/72/
---
Brian Weeden

Offline anik

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #25 on: 05/30/2014 08:31 am »
Photo is made on April 14, 2014.

Offline anik

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #26 on: 11/09/2014 08:38 am »
GeoEye-1 photo of Taiyuan facilities made on September 7, 2014.

Offline anik

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #27 on: 09/03/2015 04:00 pm »
WorldView-1 photo of Taiyuan facilities made on August 12, 2015.

Online Galactic Penguin SST

Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #28 on: 10/07/2015 10:28 am »
Here are some very recent photos of the launch facilities at TSLC: http://www.chinaspaceflight.com/launch-center/TSLC/TSLC-2015.html

The most interesting photo of them all is apparently a plaque on the bottom of the service tower of the old launch area 7 (see below), which shows all the launches that used that pad every year.

The white rockets corresponds perfectly with the 26 satellite launches with Long March rockets from 1988 to 2009. However the brown rockets is probably what we all are interested in - for they should show how many missile/"suborbital launches" have used that pad per year!

If I'm not mistaken, the number of brown rockets are:
1982 - 2
1989 - 1
1995 - 2
1997 - 2
2002 - 3
2003 - 1
2004 - 1
2014 - 3
2015 - 2

I wonder if it is possible to correlate these numbers with the DF-5/CZ-1D/"WU-14" flight tests we know of?  :-X
Astronomy & spaceflight geek penguin. In a relationship w/ Space Shuttle Discovery. Current Priority: Chasing the Chinese Spaceflight Wonder Egg & A Certain Chinese Mars Rover

Offline Liss

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #29 on: 10/07/2015 11:25 am »
The five launches in 2014 and 2015 do correlate perfectly with five WU-14 but do not include two known DF-5A in 2012 and 2014.
This message reflects my personal opinion based on open sources of information.

Offline Skyrocket

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #30 on: 10/07/2015 11:38 am »
The five launches in 2014 and 2015 do correlate perfectly with five WU-14 but do not include two known DF-5A in 2012 and 2014.

The DF-5As might have been launched from a Silo, not from LC-7

Offline russianhalo117

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #31 on: 10/07/2015 04:36 pm »
The five launches in 2014 and 2015 do correlate perfectly with five WU-14 but do not include two known DF-5A in 2012 and 2014.

The DF-5As might have been launched from a Silo, not from LC-7
I agree with that info.

Offline Liss

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #32 on: 10/07/2015 07:36 pm »
It worth also remembering that the 45th launch of CZ-2/CZ-2C in November 2014 was officially announced as 50th CZ-2C launch since 1974. The larger number (50) obviously include the first two WU-14 vehicles and three other unknown suborbital launches.
This message reflects my personal opinion based on open sources of information.

Offline Phillip Clark

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #33 on: 10/07/2015 07:50 pm »
It worth also remembering that the 45th launch of CZ-2/CZ-2C in November 2014 was officially announced as 50th CZ-2C launch since 1974. The larger number (50) obviously include the first two WU-14 vehicles and three other unknown suborbital launches.

The first four CZ-2 launches were the CZ-2A variant: 1974 - fail, then Jianbing/FSW-0 launches in 1975, 1976 and 1978.
I've always been crazy but it's kept me from going insane - WJ.

Offline Liss

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #34 on: 10/07/2015 09:11 pm »
It worth also remembering that the 45th launch of CZ-2/CZ-2C in November 2014 was officially announced as 50th CZ-2C launch since 1974. The larger number (50) obviously include the first two WU-14 vehicles and three other unknown suborbital launches.

The first four CZ-2 launches were the CZ-2A variant: 1974 - fail, then Jianbing/FSW-0 launches in 1975, 1976 and 1978.
Phillip, in fact these were CZ-2 without 'A', but it is not relevant because the official Chinese news said of 50 launches *between 1974 and November 2014*. They said these were all CZ-2C, we know that the first four were in fact CZ-2, but the point is 50 launches vs. 45 known (4 CZ-2 + 41 CZ-2C in three different versions).
This message reflects my personal opinion based on open sources of information.

Offline limen4

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #35 on: 10/12/2015 06:59 pm »
Here are some very recent photos of the launch facilities at TSLC: http://www.chinaspaceflight.com/launch-center/TSLC/TSLC-2015.html

The most interesting photo of them all is apparently a plaque on the bottom of the service tower of the old launch area 7 (see below), which shows all the launches that used that pad every year.

The white rockets corresponds perfectly with the 26 satellite launches with Long March rockets from 1988 to 2009. However the brown rockets is probably what we all are interested in - for they should show how many missile/"suborbital launches" have used that pad per year!

If I'm not mistaken, the number of brown rockets are:
1982 - 2
1989 - 1
1995 - 2
1997 - 2
2002 - 3
2003 - 1
2004 - 1
2014 - 3
2015 - 2

I wonder if it is possible to correlate these numbers with the DF-5/CZ-1D/"WU-14" flight tests we know of?  :-X
My try to assign the launch dates. I guess the first entry of the poster refers likely to launches until (and not in) 1982. There have been two confirmed DF-5 launches in 1979 from a TSLC pad (not silo). The launch dates of DF-5B in 2002-2004 are estimated and are the only ones in the table without any confirmation. The DF-5B was shown to public for the first time during the Beijing parade in 2015. The existance of the missile, which has MIRV capability, was  under strict secrecy in official chinese media.

Offline Liss

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #36 on: 10/15/2015 09:42 pm »
CSF has published three photos of the plaque:










« Last Edit: 10/15/2015 09:51 pm by Liss »
This message reflects my personal opinion based on open sources of information.

Offline anik

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #37 on: 12/03/2015 10:51 am »
WorldView-3 photo of Taiyuan facilities made on October 27, 2015.

Offline beidou

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #38 on: 12/03/2015 06:12 pm »
WorldView-3 photo of Taiyuan facilities made on October 27, 2015.

Can we really see anything from this picture? I guess probably not much...

Offline anik

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Re: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
« Reply #39 on: 12/03/2015 06:57 pm »
Can we really see anything from this picture? I guess probably not much...

Okay, I can help you to see.

Comparing Google Maps photo on April 14, 2014 (left) and WorldView-3 photo on October 27, 2015 (right), we can see a continuing construction at three areas of cosmodrome.

For example, new buildings with blue roofs were built in year and half.

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