19 July 2018
China is developing a space vehicle to help transport orbiting satellites that have run out of fuel, Science and Technology Daily reported on 19 July 2018. Fuel is a key factor limiting the life of satellites. Most satellites function for years after entering orbit, but eventually, they have to end their missions and burn up into the atmosphere due to fuel exhaustion.
The vehicle is being developed by an academy affiliated to the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp. The carrier, instead of refueling the satellite, will use a robotic arm to dock with it, and will then carry the satellite to maintain its original orbit.
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15 July 2018
The first satellite in the 300-satellite array known as the Hongyan constellation, which will provide worldwide communication services, is set to be launched by the end of this year. The announcement was made at the Hunan Commercial Aviation Space and Marine Equipment Forum held on 19 July in Changsha, Central China's Hunan Province, the Xinhua News Agency reported. The constellation will consist of more than 300 low-orbit satellites. The first satellite in the network is designed to test the operation of the system, according to the report.
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20 July 2018

4th CCAF- Still thinking about to go or not to go? To make your mind up, read the extensive report "Wuhan - China's Centre of the Commercial Universe" about the last year's conference, the 3rd CCAF in the issue no 21 of our GoTaikonauts! newsletter or follow this link to the downloads section on our website and download the report.

For more information about the event in September 2018, please, read our news item from 14 July on our website....

20 July 2018
Maurice Sylvestre, a planetary scientist at France’s Institute for Research and Planetary Astronomy, is helping the Chinese space agency build a second-generation chemical-sensing camera for its Mars mission, which will launch in 2020. He was also involved in the work on the Éclair instrument that is part of a joint French-Chinese satellite. Notably, that makes him one of a small number of planetary scientists who are working with China to boost their science, while doing his best to keep Western technology from getting pilfered. It's a tightrope that not everyone is willing to walk. “We are careful what we are doing,” Sylvestre says. “We understand the security issues. We understand that we should be careful and not be too naïve. But at the same time I feel the idea of planetary exploration is for everyone."
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