Hello and welcome to another episode of the Dongfang Hour China Aero/Space News Roundup! Without further ado, the news update from the week of 8 - 14 Feb.
1) Tianwen-1 inserts itself successfully into Martian orbit
China’s Mars exploration spacecraft successfully inserted itself into Martian orbit by firing its main thrust engine (3000N) during approx. 15 mins, lowering its velocity sufficiently to be “captured” by the red planet’s gravitational field. Tianwen-1 has inserted itself in a highly elliptical orbit with a periapsis of 400 km and an orbital plane inclination of 10°. While we are still in the early stages of the mission, this is a historical moment for China, as it’s the first time it has inserted a spacecraft in a orbit beyond the Earth orbit, becoming the 6th country to do so after the US, Russia, Europe, India, and the UAE.
2) Publication of the ESPI Report “New Space in Asia”, including DFH (and GT!) contribution for the China Part
Detailed report published earlier this week about the large and growing “New Space” sector in Asia. While our personal favorite would clearly be the Chinese market, the report provides a great deep-dive into a number of other regional space industries, with every chapter written by an expert of their respective market. The report is highly recommended as a primer for understanding several of the world’s fastest-growing space industries.
3) Happy New Year of the Ox! + Chinese New Year Art of Social Media
China this week has also officially entered the year of the ox, according to its traditional lunar calendar. One event that was worth noting during this period: the traditional Chinese New Year gala, which is watched by almost every household on the night of CNY (interestingly while the TV is generally on with 春晚, people aren’t generally watching it with too much attention). During this new year gala, the spotlight was given to Chinese space during 3 whole minutes, during which the presentator invited the Chief designers of some of China’s most ambitious projects. When you watch the video you think a little bit about how important a space country China is becoming. And by observing the way the space part of the Gala was set up (music, content, …), you realize how strong the Chinese pride is for their latest achievements.
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A Conversation on Chinese Satellite Constellations
China's Future Launch Plans for Crewed Spaceflight, the Growing Trend of Rideshare - Ep 73
Wentian: the Next Big Upgrade to the Chinese Space Station, A Review of China's IFC Market in 2022 - Ep 72
Tianbing Aerospace: the Most Eccentric Chinese Rocket Startup, CASC's 2022 Launch Blue Book & Takeaways - Ep 71
A Chinese Version of Relativity Space, Takeaways from China's Space White Paper - Ep 70
Chinese Launch Startups Are Raising a Historic Amount of Funding in 2022 - Ep 69
Could 2022 be the Year of Massive Chinese Satellite Deployment?, A New Variant of the Long March 8 - Ep 68
How the Chinese Space Station Handles Space Debris, A Retrospective Look at 2021 Rounds of Funding - Ep 67
The Chinese Space Station Tests Module Transfer Capabilities, A Chinese Startup is Developing Laser Comms Technologies - Ep 66
China Confirms Future Chang'e Lunar Missions, Starlink Comes Across The Chinese Space Station - Ep 65
The Top 8 Highlights of Chinese Space in 2021
Expace's Kuaizhou-1A Rocket Fails for the Second Time and Associated Implications, Rocket Pi Launches a Microgravity Platform - Ep 64
Galactic Energy Successfully Launches Ceres-1 and Gives An Exclusive Interview - Ep 63
A Chinese Startup Wants to Commercialize Relay Satellites, The Tiangang EO Constellation, Landspace Updates - Ep 62
Major Chinese Rocket Updates at the 2021 China Commercial Aerospace Forum in Wuhan - Ep 61
China Betting Big on Sea-Based Launch, Revisiting the Concept of a US-China Space Race, The First China-Africa Beidou Conference - Ep 60
Shenzhou 13 Performs a Historic Spacewalk, iSpace Sets Foot in Wenchang, Tianwen-1 Changes Orbit - Ep 59
A New Constellation from Spacety, Orienspace's New Rockets & co-CEO, Linkspace Gives a Sign of Life - Ep 58
Mars Express & Zhurong to Communicate, China Breaks Previous Record in Launch, Launch Company Rocket Buys JZYJ Methalox Engines - Ep 57
Interview Part 2 - The Growing Trend of Chinese Space Culture (feat. Molly Silk)
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