09 May 2021
China Satellite Network Group, founded in April with a ceremony attended by Chinese Vice-Premier Han Zheng, is tasked with launching low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites into space, beaming internet services to anywhere on the planet. The newcomer reports to the Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, which controls the Chinese government’s stakes in state-owned companies.
The company has no official website at the moment, and the government has yet to release any information about the firm’s organisational structure - except that Zhang Dongchen, former general manager at state-owned China Electronics Corporation, was appointed to oversee its establishment.
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09 May 2021 (updated 10 May)
The remnants of China’s CZ-5B (Y2) rocket re-entered the atmosphere on 9 May at 02:14 UTC over Saudi Arabia and impacted the Earth at 02:24 UTC (10:24 BJT). The parts surviving the re-entry fell into a sea area with the center at 2.65° North and 72.47°East, said CMSA. Space-Track.org tweeted that the 18 Space Control Squadron confirmed the remnants of the Long March 5B rocket had re-entered. The surviving parts fell into the Indian Ocean/Arabian Sea within the western area of the island group of the Maldives.
No immediate reports of any damage or casualties became known, ending an anxious week as people and governments wondered where and when the space debris would fall.
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China's huge rocket booster falling from space highlights orbital debris problem
Just for 2020 launches, there are still 32 rocket bodies in orbit. Fifteen of those pieces of space junk are Chinese. 10 were lofted by the U.S., 5 of them on classified missions, T.S. Kelso of CelesTrak, an analytical group that keeps an eye on Earth-orbiting objects, said. "The problem is the number should be zero, and we all need to start working now to make sure we don't continue to make this problem worse," Kelso concluded. "But the bottom line is that we all need to do better to stop leaving things in orbit after their intended use, and to find safe ways to remove them."
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10 May 2021
The Fengyun 3E (FY-3E) meteorological satellite for dawn-dusk orbits has passed its factory review at the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, bringing it one step closer to launch. Once in orbit, the FY-3E will enhance China's capabilities in meteorological forecasts, climate change responses, and disaster prevention and reduction. The FY-3E will also be capable of environmental and ecological monitoring, space weather forecasts, and space weather early warnings.
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10 May 2021
Blaine Curcio of Orbital Gateway Consulting and Jean Deville of The China Aerospace Blog are reporting for SpaceWatch.Global on China's main space events of the last week. This time the two experts have a closer look at the re-entry of the CZ-5B, at the hot fire test of launch startup JZYJ, at CASSPACE's B+ Funding Round and the re-emergence of OneSpace. Like always: this is an highly interesting and informative read or for those who prefer to listen: an interesting podcast!!!
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