31 March 2022
On 31 March, Tianzhou 2 was guided to a controlled re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere at 18:40 BJT. Most of the spacecraft burned up during the process. Debris fell into the designated area in the South Pacific. TZ-2 was launched on 29 May 2021 with 6.8 t of supplies mainly for the Shenzhou 12 mission, including 2 t of propellant, more than 160 packages of supplies as well as 2 EVA suits. It left the docking port on the Tianhe module on 27 March 2022.
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03 April 2022
In this episode of the Dongfang Hour, Jean Deville is making a deep dive into the history of the CZ-2 rocket. He explains the variants and the efforts, China took to develop the CZ-2F for human space missions. More news can be found in the weekly newsletter https://www.getrevue.co/profile/dongfanghour
And if you like to support Jean and Blaine, maybe you would like to buy them a coffee? https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dongfanghour
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03 April 2022
Head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin is explaining Roscosmos' role in the ExoMars mission and gives ideas about how Russia could now continue without ESA's participation: "I think we can make this mission happen with another partner like China or someone else."
He also elaborates on the existing and future cooperation with China by saying: "We work well with our Chinese friends. We have Glonass and the Chinese Beidou system that was built in orbit not long ago. They are compatible, very compatible. The second project which is interesting is the International Lunar Research Station. We have signed all the necessary documents with our Chinese friends. Regarding the Chinese Space Station, we can talk about new modules. To be friends in space, we must be friends on Earth. Russia and China are friends on Earth. I think Russia and China can work together in manned cosmonautics."
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07 April 2022
China will take solid steps to boost high-quality development of its homegrown Beidou Navigation Satellite System during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) - the country's top economic regulator - said on 6 April. The objectives are breakthroughs in several key technologies, building an innovation system involving leading enterprises, universities and research institutes and the promotion of Beidou's application in fields including energy and transportation, natural resources, urban construction, ecological protection and mass consumption. More efforts will also be made to encourage the private sector's participation in the research and development of Beidou applications and technologies, cultivate a group of leading enterprises and create a batch of globally competitive industrial clusters.
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