29 September 2017
AsiaSat 9 comsat was successfully launched onboard a Proton-M rocket on 29 September 2017 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The satellite is AsiaSat’s next generation satellite, planned to replace AsiaSat 4 at 122 degrees East Longitude. AsiaSat 9 is a Space Systems Loral 1300 satellite equipped with 28 C-band and 32 Ku-band transponders, and a Ka-band payload. AsiaSat 9, operated by Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. (AsiaSat), will provide additional capacity, enhanced power and coverage for DTH, video distribution, private networks and broadband services across the Asia-Pacific region.
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27 September 2017
Shenzhou 10 taikonaut, Wang Yaping, was speaking at the InnoTech Expo at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, on 26 September. She said her dream was to return to space and explore further into unchartered territory. “Hong Kong people will definitely have opportunities to join the nation’s space missions in the future,” the 37-year-old said. “The country currently has two batches of astronauts. All are military pilots from the air force. But we’re now recruiting the third batch … and we also select from scientists and researchers.”
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03 October 2017
A dozen silkworms whose parents took a spin around the planet have been donated to a Hong Kong secondary school. Last October, six of the insects were taken on-board the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft, China’s sixth manned space mission and its longest to date, which saw two astronauts, Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong, spend 30 days orbiting in the Tiangong-2 space laboratory. On 2 October, the astronauts donated the descendants of these “space silkworms” to the school, who will study them to see if the favourable variation will be inherited.
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04 October 2017
Professor Marian Scott, OBE, FRSE, and Vice-President (International) of the Royal Society of Edinburgh has been part of the science delegation to China which was led by Jocelyn Bell Burnell. The Scottish scientists met with presidents and other influential individuals from leading national academies and related bodies in China and visited several research institute. Professor Scott wrote about the visit: "From our conversations with them and others, it is apparent that the Chinese see many areas where collaboration and partnerships would be beneficial, for example in space science, big data, renewable energy, robotics, sustainable cities, cultural heritage, plant genetics and food security and medical science."
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