07 February 2018
Chinese taikonauts have "maintained an indomitable spirit while carrying out space exploration," said Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, on 7 February. Zhang made the remarks at a seminar while listening to reports delivered by Chinese taikonauts Jing Haipeng, Liu Yang and Deng Qingming about their work over the years. Zhang called on the military and the armed forces to learn from taikonauts.
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08 February 2018
Yang Yuguang, Senior Researcher at China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, told China Daily that Chinese space workers appreciate SpaceX's spirit of innovation and creativity and are determined to continue to explore their own road maps toward success. "The rapid rise of SpaceX can't be copied in China because NASA has granted it an unprecedented level of support, ranging from infrastructure and technology to experience," he said. "That is why it has been able to grow so fast. By comparison, we have to accumulate experience and technology on our own." However, some of the US company's technical approaches can be considered by Chinese researchers as a reference, Yang said, noting China should particularly research and learn its expertise in producing and optimizing rocket engines.
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China’s space tech has a lot to catch up with the U.S.
08 February 2018
China has a lot of catching up to do with the US on space technology because it was late in the game and only a few of its private companies have such a mature technology, Chinese experts said after the successful launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy on 6 February. According to media reports, the Falcon Heavy can carry a payload of 16.8 tons to Mars. This shows China still lags far behind the US on space technology, because our most recently launched Long March-5 can only carry a payload of 25 tons into low Earth orbit, Huang Hai, Vice President of Beihang University's School of Astronautics.
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09 February 2018
A United Kingdom satellite company has secured a 25-million-pound ($35 million) contract to lend a high-resolution Earth observation spacecraft to a Chinese partner for seven years. Beijing-based Twenty First Century Aerospace Technology Co will lease the satellite from Guildford-based Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. The satellite will be launched on the Indian Space Research Organisation's Polar rocket in August. The contract was signed in Beijing last week, in the presence of UK Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox.
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08 February 2018
"Preliminary progress has been made in technological research on the Long March-9, and official approval of the project is expected," said Long Lehao, Chief Designer of launch vehicle series at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology and Vice Chief Designer of China's first lunar exploration programme. "Given China's existing technologies, the project is entirely possible to achieve completion within 10 years after official approval."
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