China's space program

[yuebai]

So reusable 2nd stage of Long March 9 is something for 2040-2050? That is rather long time. I wonder if private company can step up and progress a bit faster, since private company in China are moving pretty fast.

A number of years ago I was talking to a US technology expert who had done an assessment of China's space industry, including going to China to talk to as many people as they could. They told me that commercial aerospace companies are majority-owned by the Chinese government. So the definitions don't apply to China in the same way as the West.

Actually, this PPT can explain nothing except that the Long March 9 has not been confirmed yet. Although the trend of the first and second stage recovery will not change, we can still see several versions of Long March 9 PPT.

[yuebai]

So reusable 2nd stage of Long March 9 is something for 2040-2050? That is rather long time. I wonder if private company can step up and progress a bit faster, since private company in China are moving pretty fast.

A number of years ago I was talking to a US technology expert who had done an assessment of China's space industry, including going to China to talk to as many people as they could. They told me that commercial aerospace companies are majority-owned by the Chinese government. So the definitions don't apply to China in the same way as the West.

The situations of different companies vary greatly, and their equity systems are quite different, which can be found in public information. It is not good to generalize in a simple and crude way. In addition, American experts tend to misunderstand the investment of local industrial funds, which do play a key role in the investment of some aerospace enterprises. I won't assume any intention behind this misunderstanding, but generally speaking, these industrial funds generally do not interfere with the operation of the enterprise itself.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/cnsawatcher/status/1765568260391538819

Sun Zezhou, a researcher from CASC, mentioned that they aim to bring back soil from Mars by around 2030. CNSA successfully retrieved 1731 grams of lunar samples during the Chang'e 5 mission.  Full HD:

[FutureSpaceTourist]

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/cnsawatcher/status/1771594150380548580

CASC plans 6 more Long March 8 launches this year, half basic and half improved models (8G). On March 20, it sent Queqiao II into Earth-Moon transfer orbit. Future missions and improvements await. Full HD:

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/cnsawatcher/status/1771777040674365706

2024 will be a booming year of China’s commercial aerospace industry. Multiple space companies have or will set foot at the new Hainan Commercial Space Center. Full HD:

[Satori]

China publishes world's first high-definition lunar geologic atlas.

China (...) released a set of geologic atlas of the global moon with a scale of 1:2.5 million, which is the first complete high-definition lunar geologic atlas in the world, providing basic map data for future lunar research and exploration.

[Satori]

Selection of fourth batch of astronauts to be completed soon: official.

The selection of the fourth batch of Chinese astronauts is about to be completed soon, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced at a press conference on Wednesday.

[Satori]

China announces new partners for International Lunar Research Station.

More partners, including one country and two international organizations, will participate in the construction and operation of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced on Wednesday.

[Steven Pietrobon]

China publishes world's first high-definition lunar geologic atlas.

China (...) released a set of geologic atlas of the global moon with a scale of 1:2.5 million, which is the first complete high-definition lunar geologic atlas in the world, providing basic map data for future lunar research and exploration.

You can download the map from Wikipedia.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_geologic_map_of_the_Moon_at_1-2.5M_scale.png

[Emmettvonbrown]

Just one random thought, hopefully not off-topic. I've just realized that China Mars Sample Return and manned lunar landing both have a target year of 2029-2030.
I'm wondering whether this is not related to the 80th anniversary of the PRC - October 1, 2029.
But there is more.
Those days of 2023, both MSR and Artemis are in trouble. MSR price tag of $11 billion is not acceptable, neither is 2040. As for Artemis: SLS extremely low flight rate, Orion heatshield troubles, and Starship HLS own delays.

Bottom line: I wonder whether the PRC is not doing an all-out effort to beat NASA at both MSR and Artemis game, both efforts targeting a 1st October 2029 date.

https://spacenews.com/china-targets-2030-for-mars-sample-return-mission-potential-landing-areas-revealed/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanyue

On 12 July 2023, at the 9th China (International) Commercial Aerospace Forum in Wuhan, Hubei province, Zhang Hailian, a deputy chief designer with the CMSA, publicly introduced a preliminary plan to land two astronauts on the Moon by the year 2030.

IMHO of course, I'm mostly reading the tea leaves.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/cnsawatcher/status/1829423807456588156

Long March 2F Y20 rocket finished assembly test, set for mid-September delivery. It'll be standby for crewed flights and then transition to active missions. Dual role ensures readiness and execution. Source:m.weibo.cn/status/OuFg95P…

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1837233870959210645

Private Chinese launch providers continue to march at pace toward reusability, with two companies performing test high-altitude hops of their Vertical Takeoff and Vertical Landing (VTVL) prototype vehicles.

By Martin Smith (@MartiniumSpace).

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2024/09/china-roundup-3/

[Satori]

China's space medicine progress to contribute to future space exploration.

HANGZHOU, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- China's space station has gained initial results in the field of space medicine that will contribute to future manned lunar landings and other deep space exploration missions, according to the Second Frontier Forum of Space Medicine that opened on Saturday in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province in east China.

[Satori]

Xi calls for accelerating progress in China's space endeavors.

BEIJING, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday encouraged personnel in China's space industry to continue to work hard and accelerate progress in space endeavors.

[KVP424]

New sea launch ship apparently coming next year for Haiyang Maritime Spaceport
https://x.com/raz_liu/status/1838565105665216768

Haiyang Space port plan to build a Semi-submerged ship to provide a more compatible sea-launch platform. The ship plan to deliver at end of next year. The demonstration rocket in the patent pic looks like a ZQ-2 via http://m.weibo.cn/status/5082141063123584?

I wonder if we need a pinned thread about Haiyang Space Port especially with the rise of Chinese sea launch.

[Satori]

China Focus: China's space exploration achievements expand humanity's frontiers.

China launched its first satellite, Dongfanghong-1, on April 24, 1970, ushering in the nation's exploration of the universe and its peaceful use of outer space. Five decades on, China's unremitting space exploration efforts are unlocking a wealth of insights concerning the cosmos.

[Satori]

China Focus: China releases space science development program for 2024-2050.

China unveiled a national mid and long-term development program for space science on Tuesday, which will guide the country's planning of space science missions and space research from 2024 to 2050.