05/05/2020
- Modified version of country’s most powerful rocket carries next-generation capsule designed to take astronauts to its planned space station
- It will be able to launch and land with three crew members and up to 500kg of cargo, according to state media
China launched a new version of its heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
China successfully launched a prototype of its next-generation manned spacecraft – without astronauts – along with a new version of its heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket on Tuesday, its space agency said.
The Long March 5B rocket was launched into low-Earth orbit from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre on Hainan Island in the country’s south.
The launch marks a significant step forward for China’s two big space exploration ambitions – building a space station and a mission to Mars.
A modified version of China’s most powerful rocket, the Long March 5B is 53.7 metres (176 feet) tall. It will carry the next-generation crew capsule prototype designed to replace the Shenzhou spacecraft, to transport astronauts to its planned space station in low-Earth orbit.
China aims to launch the core module of that space station designed for three crew members, the Tianhe, in 2021. Beijing has been planning to build its own space station for decades as an alternative to the International Space Station, from which China has been excluded by the United States over security concerns.
China’s space station project has been delayed by problems with its heavy-lift rockets. Photo: Xinhua
The prototype capsule has a different configuration to Shenzhou’s and it will be able to launch and land with three astronauts on board as well as up to 500kg of cargo, according to state news agency Xinhua. That will mean it can be used to transport research specimens and hardware from the space station back to Earth.
While the Shenzhou can ferry three astronauts, the new capsule design will be able to accommodate up to six crew members and, unlike the Shenzhou, it will be capable of carrying them to the moon, according to Chinese media reports.
Its systems, performance in orbit and parachute deployment are among the areas that will be put to the test during the launch.
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The long-anticipated space station project has been delayed by problems in the development of heavy-lift rockets to carry the modules. In 2017, an oxygen supply problem caused the failure of the second Long March 5 launch, and it
plunged into the Pacific Ocean shortly after take-off. But in December it successfully
carried a Shijian-20 satellite into orbit, while the liquid oxygen-liquid hydrogen engines used in both the Long March 5 and 5B rockets passed testing in January.
China’s other space ambitions include a Mars probe, and landing astronauts on the moon within the next decade. For the Mars mission, the unmanned orbiter and rover Tianwen-1 will be launched by the Long March 5 and it is expected to take up to seven months for the probe to reach the red planet. China would be the third country to do so – after the United States and the Soviet Union.
Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration, said China was on track to launch the mission this year, with July the likely launch date.
Source: SCMP
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02/05/2020
BEIJING, May 2 (Xinhua) — The number of China-Europe freight trains hit a record monthly high of 979 in April, up 46 percent year on year, the China State Railway Group said Saturday.
A total of 88,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) of cargo were transported by the trains, up 50 percent from a year earlier.
From January to April, a total of 2,920 China-Europe freight trains transported cargo of 262,000 TEUs, up 24 percent and 27 percent from a year earlier, respectively.
The number of departing trains rose 36 percent year on year to 1,638 during the first four months, while the number of returning trains climbed 11 percent to 1,282.
China-Europe cargo train services have become an important logistics channel to ensure smooth trade as air, sea and road transportation have been severely affected by the novel coronavirus epidemic, the company said.
The freight trains have also been playing a crucial role in helping with the fight against the pandemic in Europe as massive quantities of medical supplies were sent by them.
From March 21 to the end of April, anti-epidemic supplies totaling 660,000 items and weighing 3,142 tonnes were sent by the freight trains to European countries such as Italy, Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic.
Source: Xinhua
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28/04/2020
QINGDAO, April 27 (Xinhua) — New cargo train services have been launched between east China’s Shandong Province and countries of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
A train carrying 45 containers departed Monday from the intermodal transportation center of the demonstration zone for China-SCO local economic and trade cooperation in the city of Qingdao, according to the demonstration zone.
The train, loaded with excavators and land levelers worth a total of 20 million yuan (2.8 million U.S. dollars), is expected to arrive at Almaty, Kazakhstan, in eight days.
With the intermodal transportation center in Qingdao as the cargo distribution center, the monthly train services will deliver cargo to more than 30 cities of SCO countries, including Tashkent, Minsk and Ulan Bator.
Source: Xinhua
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01/04/2020
- Authorities in Yunnan limit land and river ports to cargo traffic, locking down border communities
- Province on alert for imported cases of Covid-19
Yunnan is on alert for imported cases of the coronavirus. Photo: Xinhua
The southwestern province of Yunnan has banned Chinese citizens from leaving the country via its more than 30 land and river ports to stop the spread of
the coronavirus epidemic through returning nationals.
Yunnan, which borders Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar, had restricted its 19 land ports and 14 river ports to cargo, the provincial government said on Tuesday.
The authorities said that from Tuesday night, all departures by Chinese citizens via the checkpoints would be suspended, with exemptions granted for approved foreign aid, technical support or emergency medical workers.
on Saturday. But non-Chinese residents of border areas who have permits to cross into Yunnan could still enter the province, according to a previous report by China News Service.
Those permit holders can still cross into Yunnan but will be discouraged from doing so. Under the new restrictions, they will need to test negative for two nucleic acid tests and one antibody test before being put in seven days of centralised isolation and another seven days of home isolation, all at their own expense.
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Residents in border cities and counties will be restricted to the village and community level to prevent entry and exit of outsiders. They would also be encouraged to report illegal immigrants, the government said.
Yunnan, which recorded 174 local coronavirus cases including two deaths, said all patients in its initial wave were discharged by March 14. The province is now on alert for
imported cases, with eight patients who travelled to the province from overseas being treated as of Tuesday.
Xiao Xian, a professor of international relations from Yunnan University, said some permit holders could be deterred from crossing into Yunnan by the cost of tests and quarantine.
Xiao also said that banning Chinese citizens from crossing the border would affect border trade and tourism, but it was necessary to stop transmission of the coronavirus.
“The need to prevent the spread of an infectious disease outweighs trade and tourism. It is understandable since it is the country’s top priority now,” Xiao said.
Source: SCMP
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