Kaituozhe-1 third launch in 2005?

• #20 by Liss on 10 Sep, 2009 21:01
• Quote from: limen4 on 10 Sep, 2009 20:08

  I was surprised to find on a China philatelic cover, issued by the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, the following orbital data of the satellite:
  altitude: 307.15 km
  inclination: 91,99°
  orbital time: 88.7 minutes
  How should we interprete this?

  That's really interesting!
  First thought is of course that these are planned orbital parameters because we know from the launch contract at http://app.finance.ifeng.com/data/stock/ggzw.php?id=10766309&symbol=000901 that the scheduled orbit was a 300 km high polar one.
  But orbital period of 88.7 min does not correspond to orbital height of 307 km. A circular orbit with 88.7 min period would have a height of some 220 km only. And if we assume that 307.15 km was the apogee height, the corresponding perigee is only 133 km or so. It is low enough for the satellite to reenter after only few orbits so that no reliable orbital determination would be made by the U.S. Strategic Command.
• #21 by Liss on 10 Sep, 2009 22:14
• Quote from: limen4 on 10 Sep, 2009 20:08

  I was surprised to find on a China philatelic cover, issued by the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, the following orbital data of the satellite:
  altitude: 307.15 km
  inclination: 91,99°
  orbital time: 88.7 minutes

  
  Well, do you mean this cover? I see the parameters at the text at http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4abf844e0100a559.html but not at the cover itself...
  
  Also, the name of the satellite at left, 航天清华一号, does not correspond to the contractual name KT-1PS2.
  

  ---

  
• #22 by limen4 on 11 Sep, 2009 17:48
• Quote from: Liss on 10 Sep, 2009 22:14

  Well, do you mean this cover? I see the parameters at the text at http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4abf844e0100a559.html but not at the cover itself...
  
  Also, the name of the satellite at left, 航天清华一号, does not correspond to the contractual name KT-1PS2.
  
  

  I attached an image of the 2003 launch cover which I mean. Yes, the satellite designation "Space Tsinghua-1" at the cover is strange and was originally used for the Surrey built satellite launched in 2000. To stimulate the confusion I add the image of a privately made postcard which was sent on the occasion of the 2002 launch from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. The sender calls the satellite "Tsinghua-2", maybe because it was the second satellite launched for Tsinghua university. The remaining text I am not able to translate.
  
  By this way, nice to see that some space philatelists are in the comunity.

  ---

  

  
• #23 by ek_31 on 12 Sep, 2009 10:21
• Quote from: limen4 on 11 Sep, 2009 17:48

  The remaining text I am not able to translate.
  

  
  My English is too bad to translate this text from Chinese into English.
    Type the original text as follows：
  张小姐：你好！
  今天，在山西岢岚发射了“清华-2”小型科技卫星，它是由清华大学宇航学院研制的卫星，火箭是航天科技集团(I think this is a mistake，it must be 航天科工集团)二院研制的一枚行将退役的军用火箭。
• #24 by limen4 on 12 Sep, 2009 13:47
• Quote from: ek_31 on 12 Sep, 2009 10:21

  Quote from: limen4 on 11 Sep, 2009 17:48

  The remaining text I am not able to translate.
  

  
  My English is too bad to translate this text from Chinese into English.
    Type the original text as follows：
  张小姐：你好！
  今天，在山西岢岚发射了“清华-2”小型科技卫星，它是由清华大学宇航学院研制的卫星，火箭是航天科技集团(I think this is a mistake，it must be 航天科工集团)二院研制的一枚行将退役的军用火箭。
  

  
  Thank you ek_31. Using an online-tool for translation into English the result is:
  
  "Miss Zhang: Hello!
  Today, in Shanxi province Kelan city the "Tsinghua -2" small technology satellite, which is developed by the School of Aerospace, Tsinghua University was launched by an retired military rocket, developed by Aerospace Science and Technology Group 2nd department."
  
  Your remark ek_31 is correct. Aerospace Science and Technology Group is wrong. The CASIC 2nd department (China Academy of Space Electro-Mechanical Defence Technology) built the KT-1.
• #25 by Galactic Penguin SST on 13 Feb, 2012 13:59
• Hmm... according to an industry insider, KT-1's third launch was nearly a success: the satellite re-entered after one orbit, with the ground being able to receive signals just after launch. No idea if it's true or not.
• #26 by jcm on 06 Sep, 2014 20:15
• I'm revisiting this after a couple of years..
  The name Tsinghua-1 was used for the 2000 Surrey satellite. But this name 航天清华一号 is "Hangtian Tsinghua 1"
  - Tsinghua Aerospace 1, which presumably refers to Hangtian Tsingua Satellite Technology Ltd., the spinoff company
  joint venture between Tsinghua and CASIC which later became CASIC Satellite Technology Ltd.
  On a 2010 comment on
  http://bbs.9ifly.cn/thread-189-2-1.html user mir-2 quoted an article which talked about the "Hangtian Tsingua STL
  ..first developed and launched 50 kg midweight Hangtian Tsinghua 1 small satellites", implying that Hangtian Tsinghua 1
  might be a bus name for both KT-1PS and KT1-PS2
  
  My questions: [edit]
   Does anyone know what the "PS" stands for in KT-1PS?    Is it an abbreviation for something Chinese, or for
  an English phrase ('Prototype Satellite" perhaps?)
   Is there any indication on the philatelic covers (or elsewhere) of the 2003 launch time? I believe the first launch was at 1830 local (1030 UTC) but I don't have a time for the second launch
  
  I note that many of the links in this thread are now broken, and in particular casic-sat.com.cn is defunct (or actually,
  squatted by a video download site) so I assume CASIC Sat Tech Ltd no longer exists.
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Quote from: limen4 on 11 Sep, 2009 17:48

  Quote from: Liss on 10 Sep, 2009 22:14

  Well, do you mean this cover? I see the parameters at the text at http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4abf844e0100a559.html but not at the cover itself...
  
  Also, the name of the satellite at left, 航天清华一号, does not correspond to the contractual name KT-1PS2.
  
  

  I attached an image of the 2003 launch cover which I mean. Yes, the satellite designation "Space Tsinghua-1" at the cover is strange and was originally used for the Surrey built satellite launched in 2000. To stimulate the confusion I add the image of a privately made postcard which was sent on the occasion of the 2002 launch from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. The sender calls the satellite "Tsinghua-2", maybe because it was the second satellite launched for Tsinghua university. The remaining text I am not able to translate.
  
  By this way, nice to see that some space philatelists are in the comunity.
  
• #27 by jcm on 06 Sep, 2014 20:19
• Quote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 13 Feb, 2012 13:59

  Hmm... according to an industry insider, KT-1's third launch was nearly a success: the satellite re-entered after one orbit, with the ground being able to receive signals just after launch. No idea if it's true or not.
  

  
  I wonder if that's a confusion with the second launch, with its putative ~ 130 km perigee?
• #28 by limen4 on 07 Sep, 2014 15:30
• Quote from: jcm on 06 Sep, 2014 20:15

  I'm revisiting this after a couple of years..
  The name Tsinghua-1 was used for the 2000 Surrey satellite. But this name 航天清华一号 is "Hangtian Tsinghua 1"
  - Tsinghua Aerospace 1, which presumably refers to Hangtian Tsingua Satellite Technology Ltd., the spinoff company
  joint venture between Tsinghua and CASIC which later became CASIC Satellite Technology Ltd.
  On a 2010 comment on
  http://bbs.9ifly.cn/thread-189-2-1.html user mir-2 quoted an article which talked about the "Hangtian Tsingua STL
  ..first developed and launched 50 kg midweight Hangtian Tsinghua 1 small satellites", implying that Hangtian Tsinghua 1
  might be a bus name for both KT-1PS and KT1-PS2
  
  My questions: [edit]
   Does anyone know what the "PS" stands for in KT-1PS?    Is it an abbreviation for something Chinese, or for
  an English phrase ('Prototype Satellite" perhaps?)
   Is there any indication on the philatelic covers (or elsewhere) of the 2003 launch time? I believe the first launch was at 1830 local (1030 UTC) but I don't have a time for the second launch
  
  I note that many of the links in this thread are now broken, and in particular casic-sat.com.cn is defunct (or actually,
  squatted by a video download site) so I assume CASIC Sat Tech Ltd no longer exists.
  
  
  

  1. PS means Pico Satellite (微小卫星)
  2. I checked my collection. One cover was postmarked 3:00 p.m. , a second cover at 6:00 p.m. Maybe the first was the planned (local) launch time and the second the real one.
  3. I add an image of the KT-1PS satellite. Notice the description at the bottom.

  ---

  
• #29 by jcm on 08 Sep, 2014 01:30
• Quote from: limen4 li
  [/quote

  1. PS means Pico Satellite (微小卫星)
  2. I checked my collection. One cover was postmarked 3:00 p.m. , a second cover at 6:00 p.m. Maybe the first was the planned (local) launch time and the second the real one.
  3. I add an image of the KT-1PS satellite. Notice the description at the bottom.
  

  
  Thanks!