28 July 2022
A new small quantum satellite was among the 6 payloads launched with the Lijian 1 rocket on 27 July. The satellite has entered its planned orbit and is now operational, the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), one of its developers, said on 28 July. The LEO satellite with a mass of approx. 100 kg was designed to conduct real-time quantum key distribution experiments between the satellite and ground station, and to carry out technical verification. It was developed in cooperation by Chinese universities and institutions such as the USTC, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Jinan Institute of Quantum Technology.
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27 July 2022
A new Chinese solid-propellant rocket launched on 27 July 2022 at 12:12 BJT from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. The Lijian 1 launcher, also known as ZK-1A, is a 4-stage solid-propellant launch vehicle jointly developed by the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and CAS Space (Beijing Zhongke Aerospace Exploration Technology Co., Ltd.). It is 30 m tall, has a diameter of 2.65 m and a launch mass of 135 t. Its 200 t of trust provide a payload capacity of 1.5 t into SSO. The mission marked the 1st flight of Lijian 1. It carried 6 new satellites into space, including a new space technology test satellite and a test satellite for probing atmospheric density.
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some YouTube footage of the launch
27 July 2022
After undocking from the Tianhe core module on 17 July and in-orbit space technology tests, TZ-3 re-entered the atmosphere on 27 July at 11:31 BJT. Most of the spacecraft's components burned up during the re-entry, and a small amount of its debris fell into the scheduled safe waters of the South Pacific, the CMSA said. During the period between 17 and 25 July, ground controllers used the spacecraft to gain important experience for the in-orbit construction as well as the operation and management of the space station.
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25 July 2022
Yuanwang 3 returned to its homeport in the morning of 25 July, after completing 3 maritime monitoring missions. During the 60-day voyage, the vessel has sailed more than 16,000 nautical miles, completing missions including tracking and monitoring the launch of the SZ-14 crewed spaceship, which was the vessel's 100th mission. After arrival and berthing at the port, it will undergo maintenance to prepare for further missions.
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26 July 2022
CMSA reported on 25 July, that the SZ-14 crew started their work inside the Wentian space lab. In a video clip published by the agency, Commander Chen Dong was seen to be the first to float into Wentian and was followed by Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe. Chen Dong said in the video that the space lab has become his team's second living and working cabin in orbit and its arrival marked a new stride in the country's space station programme. "We are feeling very proud and happy," the mission Commander said. In the same clip, Liu said the Wentian's deployment opened the multi-module stage of the Tiangong station while Cai said the astronauts will work hard to make the best use of the space station.
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24 July 2022
13 hours after launch, Wentian successfully docked with the front docking port of the Tianhe core module on 25 July, 03:13 BJT. It was the 1st time that space rendezvous and docking were carried out during the taikonauts' in-orbit stay in the Space Station. At 10:03 BJT, the Shenzhou 14 crew opened the hatch to Wentian and entered the new Station module. The taikonauts checked the life-support system and tested the attitude control, and later on the functionality of the small robot arm and the combination of the big and small arm.
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More details on the Wentian research racks
24 July 2022
The research racks in the module are supporting experiment in the field of space life science and biotechnology, microgravity fluid physics, space material science, and new space application technologies.
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