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Wenchang
Chinese launch center for orbital launches. Designed to accommodate the modular family of Chinese next generation launch vehicles. First launches from complexes 101 and 201 for the CZ-5 and CZ-7 launch vehicles were in 2016. The site, on the eastern shore of Hainan Island, eliminates the drawbacks of earlier Chinese launhch sites located inland. The southerly location reduces the plane change required to reach synchronous orbits, thereby maximizing payload. The launch range over the Pacific eliminates azimuth restrictions and the risk of booster stages or debris falling in populated areas. The location allows delivery of launch vehicle stages by sea, removing the restriction on size limiting inland sites to rail transport.
Longitude: 110.95 deg. Latitude: 19.61 deg.
Subtopics
Country:
China.
Launch Vehicles:
Chang Zheng 5,
Chang Zheng 7.
2016 June 25 - .
12:00 GMT - .
Launch Site:
Wenchang.
Launch Complex:
Wenchang LC201.
LV Family:
CZ-NGLV.
Launch Vehicle:
Chang Zheng 7.
- DFFC - .
Nation: China.
Class: Technology.
Type: Reentry test. Spacecraft: DFFC.
COSPAR: 2016-042. Apogee: 382 km (237 mi). Perigee: 288 km (178 mi). Inclination: 40.80 deg.
China inaugurated the Wenchang spaceport on Hainan Island on Jun 25 with the launch of the first Chang Zheng 7 rocket. The CZ-7 entered orbit with a YZ-1A upper stage, which made several burns to deploy small satellites and then was deorbited along with a subscale spacecraft reentry cabin to
qualify systems for the next generation of Chinese human spaceflight missions. Four small satellites were ejected from the YZ-1A. Attached to the YZ-1A as a non-separable payload was the 'zai
guijia zhu shiyan zhuangzhi', the In-Orbit Refeulling Experimental Device. The YZ-1A was deorbited over the Pacific after the experiment was completed; the stage had a design operation life of 48
hours. US tracking indicates the stage was deorbited on Jun 27 as expected. The primary payload was the DFFC (Duoyongtu Feichuan Fanhui Cang, multipurpose subscale spacecraft return capsule) flight test mission, which was to be recovered in China. There was also a ballast frame (pei zhong zhijia) which may be a dummy service module for the capsule. The capsule was deorbited on Jun 26 and landed in China at 0741 UTC. It was possible that the YZ-1A stage performed the deorbit and then separated to fire again immediately, regain orbit and continue operations for another day, but the details of what actually happened are not clear.
- Aoxiang zhixing - .
Nation: China.
Class: Technology.
Type: Technology satellite. Spacecraft: Cubesat.
Decay Date: 2016-09-29 . USAF Sat Cat: 41625 . COSPAR: 2016-042B. Apogee: 376 km (233 mi). Perigee: 289 km (179 mi). Inclination: 40.80 deg. Aoxiang Zhixing was the first 12U cubesat, with a mass of 18 kg (33 kg including payload
adapter)..
- Aolong 1 - .
Nation: China.
Class: Technology.
Type: Technology satellite. Decay Date: 2016-08-27 . USAF Sat Cat: 41629 . COSPAR: 2016-042F. Apogee: 367 km (228 mi). Perigee: 198 km (123 mi). Inclination: 40.80 deg. Ao Long 1 was an active space debris removal experiment.
- Tiange feixingqi 1 - .
Nation: China.
Class: Technology.
Type: Technology satellite. Decay Date: 2016-08-27 . USAF Sat Cat: 41636 . COSPAR: 2016-042L. Apogee: 289 km (179 mi). Perigee: 277 km (172 mi). Inclination: 40.80 deg. Part of a pair of satellites testing data relay to each other.
- Tiange feixingqi 2 - .
Nation: China.
Class: Technology.
Type: Technology satellite. Decay Date: 2016-08-24 . USAF Sat Cat: 41637 . COSPAR: 2016-042M. Apogee: 287 km (178 mi). Perigee: 277 km (172 mi). Inclination: 40.80 deg.
- ZGZ shiyan zhuangzhi - .
Nation: China.
Class: Technology.
Type: Technology satellite. Decay Date: 2016-06-27 . USAF Sat Cat: 41624 . COSPAR: 2016-042A. Apogee: 381 km (236 mi). Perigee: 287 km (178 mi). Inclination: 40.80 deg.
2016 November 3 - .
12:43 GMT - .
Launch Site:
Wenchang.
Launch Complex:
Wenchang LC101.
LV Family:
CZ-NGLV.
Launch Vehicle:
Chang Zheng 5.
- Shi Jian 17 - .
Payload: SJ-17. Nation: China.
Class: Communications.
Type: Communications satellite. Spacecraft: DFH-4.
USAF Sat Cat: 41838 . COSPAR: 2016-065A. Apogee: 35,804 km (22,247 mi). Perigee: 35,771 km (22,227 mi). Inclination: 0.80 deg.
First launch from Wenchang Space Centre in Hainan. The CZ-5 configuration used four large liquid strapon boosters around a central 5 metre diameter core stage, with a second stage consisting of a stepped cylinder similar in configuration to the Delta 4/H-2A second stages. On this mission a Yuanzheng-2 third stage was also installed. The payload was Shi Jian 17, an experimental communications technology satellite with a secondary experiment to observe orbital debris. After launch at 1243 UTC the CZ-5 second stage achieved a 170 km parking orbit at 1257 UTC. At 1307 UTC the second stage made a six-minute-long second burn to 178 x 29127 km x 19.5 deg. The YZ-2 separated at 1313 UTC and shortly afterwards made a burn to 212 x 35802 km x 19.5 deg. YZ-2
then coasted to apogee and restarted at 1836 UTC to place itself in near geosynchronous orbit. The SJ-17 payload separated at about 1855 UTC into a 35886 x 38811 km x 0.8 deg orbit and drifted around the GEO arc. On Nov 12 it entered a 35771 x 35804 km geostationary orbit over 162.9E.
2017 April 20 - .
11:40 GMT - .
Launch Site:
Wenchang.
Launch Complex:
Wenchang LC201.
LV Family:
CZ-NGLV.
Launch Vehicle:
Chang Zheng 7.
- Silu-1 - .
Nation: China.
USAF Sat Cat: 42903 . COSPAR: 2017-021F. Apogee: 311 km (193 mi). Perigee: 289 km (179 mi). Inclination: 42.77 deg. Period: 90.52 min. See SilkRoad-1 01 (Silu 1). ..
- Tianzhou-1 - .
Nation: China.
Class: Manned.
Type: Manned logistics spacecraft. Spacecraft Bus: Shenzhou.
Spacecraft: Tianzhou.
Decay Date: 2017-09-22 . USAF Sat Cat: 42684 . COSPAR: 2017-021A. Apogee: 369 km (229 mi). Perigee: 311 km (193 mi). Inclination: 42.80 deg. Period: 92.36 min.
See Tianzhou 1 (TZ 1). China's first space station cargo resupply ship. Tianzhou-1 had a mass of 12910 kg. It flew on the second Chang Zheng 7 rocket, launched from Wenchang space centre on Hainan island. Tianzhou-1
docked with the Tiangong-2 space lab, then unoccupied. This mission was mainly for technology development; the Tianzhou frieghters were to be used operationally to resupply China's future large space station. Tianzhou 1 was inserted into a 198 x 372 km x 42.8 deg initial orbit, which was then raised to 311 x 369 km. The second stage ejected the usual four motor separation covers into 200 x 550 km orbits.
2017 July 2 - .
11:22 GMT - .
Launch Site:
Wenchang.
Launch Complex:
Wenchang LC101.
LV Family:
CZ-NGLV.
Launch Vehicle:
Chang Zheng 5.
- Shi Jian 18 - .
Payload: SJ-18. Nation: China.
COSPAR: 2017-F03. See SJ 18. ..
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