Tag: Jonathan McDowell

‘Divine Vessel’ Rocket Launches China’s First Human Spaceflight Since 2016

Article by Janis Mackey Frayer                                                June 17, 2021                                                             (nbcnews.com)

• On June 17th, the Chinese Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-12 capsule successfully launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, sending three astronauts on a historic mission to an orbiting space station that China is currently building. It was the first time in five years that China has sent humans into space. (see 1:07 minute video of launch below)

• Shenzhou-12, or “Divine Vessel,” is one of 11 planned missions to complete construction of China’s 70-ton ‘Tiangong’ or “Harmony of the Heavens” space station that should be up and running by next year. The astronauts will remain docked with the main Tianhe section of the station for three months to perform spacewalks, maintenance work and critical testing of life support and other systems.

• “I believe that in the near future, when the Chinese space station is complete, we will see Chinese and foreign astronauts taking on joint missions,” China Manned Space Agency Assistant Director Ji Qiming said at an earlier news conference. “Exploring the vast universe, developing space activities and building a powerful space nation is our unremitting space dream.”

• The 20 year-old International Space Station, or ISS, which has hosted astronauts from the U.S., Russia and a number of other countries is set to be decommissioned after 2024. China has long been frozen out of and ISS mission due to American concerns over the Chinese space program’s secrecy and connections to its own military. Moscow has hinted that it may withdraw from ISS cooperation in 2025, meaning China could be the only country with a functioning space station.

• The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, also signed an agreement in March with the Chinese National Space Administration to build a base on or around the Moon, which they will call the International Scientific Lunar Station. “All the firsts that the U.S. and the USSR did in the Cold War, China is just ticking them off,” said Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. “Now they’re at the point where they’re starting to think, ‘OK, we’re not just copying the West anymore, we’re going to start doing our own thing’. And that’s going to be very interesting to watch.”

• On the day before the launch, the three Chinese astronauts (pictured above) met with reporters from inside a germ-free glass chamber. Veteran Nie Haisheng, 56, was looking forward to his third trip to space, while Liu Boming, 54, took part in a 2011 mission that included China’s first spacewalk. They were joined by 40-year-old Tang Hongbo, who was looking forward to his first journey up to the stars, having been selected for training in 2010.

• After Tianhe’s main module was successfully launched last month, state media reported that President Xi Jinping wrote a letter to congratulate Chinese engineers for a breakthrough that earned a place in the nation’s history. NASA and others scolded Beijing for acting recklessly by allowing a rocket booster from that mission to fall to Earth in a seemingly uncontrolled manner.

• The Shenzhou-12’s launch was covered on state television and celebrated as a matter of prestige ahead of the Communist Party’s 100th anniversary next month. For Xi, the space station holds symbolic value in his vision of his country as “a space power in all respects.”

• But as China pours billions of dollars into its space programs, including an exploration of the dark side of the Moon and its recent landing of a rover on Mars, some analysts fear that its lack of international coordination is creating a dangerously competitive playing field in space. “There is no doubt the U.S. is the most advanced,” Zhou Jianping, the chief designer at China’s Manned Space Agency told NBC News. “Regardless of scale, China develops space programs out of our country’s own need … to fulfil our own dream.”

 

JIUQUAN, China — A Chinese rocket blasted off from a launch pad in the Gobi Desert on Thursday, sending three astronauts on a historic mission to an orbiting space station China is building.

Fire and huge clouds of dust could be seen in the distance when the Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-12 capsule roared away from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, as China’s space race with the United States and Russia continues to gather pace.

It was the first time in five years that China has sent humans into space.

For Rong Yi, the rocket’s chief designer, it was hard to see it go.

“We have invested so much energy,” she told NBC News, likening the rocket to raising a child. “But I am thrilled to see it fulfill its duty within 10 minutes.”

China Manned Space Agency Assistant Director Ji Qiming

Shenzhou-12, or “Divine Vessel,” is one of 11 planned missions to complete construction of China’s 70-ton Tiangong or Harmony of the Heavens space station that is set to be up and running by next year.

The astronauts will remain docked with the main Tianhe section of the station for three months — China’s longest crewed mission yet — to perform spacewalks, maintenance work and critical testing of life support and other systems.

“I believe that in the near future, when the Chinese space station is complete, we will see Chinese and foreign astronauts taking on joint missions,” China Manned Space Agency Assistant Director Ji Qiming said at a news conference Wednesday ahead of the launch.

Zhou Jianping, the chief designer at China’s Manned Space Agency
             Tiangong Space Station

“Exploring the vast universe, developing space activities and building a powerful space nation is our unremitting space dream,” he said.

China has long been frozen out of the International Space Station, or ISS, a project launched 20 years ago that has served as the ultimate expression of post-Cold War reconciliation between Russia and the United States. American concerns over the Chinese space program’s secrecy and connections to its military were largely responsible for that.

But the aging ISS that hosted astronauts from the U.S., Russia and a number of other countries is set to be decommissioned after 2024. As broader U.S.-Russia relations deteriorate, Moscow has hinted that it may withdraw from ISS cooperation in 2025, meaning China could be the only country with a functioning space station.

Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, also signed an agreement in March with the Chinese National Space Administration to build a base on or around the Moon, which they will call the International Scientific Lunar Station.

 

1:06 minute video of the launch of the Long March-2F rocket
carrying the Shenzhou-12 capsule (‘NBC News’ YouTube)

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China Quietly Launches ‘Reusable Experimental Spacecraft’

Article by Eric Mack                                   September 4, 2020                                    (cnet.com)

• On September 4th, with little fanfare China’s state-run Xinhua media outlet announced the launch of a “reusable experimental spacecraft” from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. Space industry watchers believe it to be some sort of unmanned space plane similar to the X-37B operated by the US Air Force and Space Force, that the Chinese have been developing since 2017.

• The statement reads: “After a period of in-orbit operation, the spacecraft will return to the scheduled landing site in China. It will test reusable technologies during its flight, providing technological support for the peaceful use of space.”

• The mission was conducted under a veil of secrecy with no official launch photos, and not even the time of launch made public. Jonathan McDowell with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics speculated that China’s secrecy “leads one to think this is not only a space plane, it’s a military space plane”.

[Editor’s Note]   While the Chinese test flight lasted two days, the Americans have kept its umnanned X-37B aloft in space for more than two years. (see previous ExoArticle on the X-37B craft)

To be fair, the Air Force is just as secretive about its X-37B craft. But the unmanned Chinese craft, called ‘Chongfu Shiyong Shiyan Hangtian Qi’ (translation: ‘Repeat Use Test Space Craft’) returned safely two days after the September 4th launch. Interestingly, it appears that the Chinese craft released an object into space before returning back to the Earth. (see follow-up article “China’s reusable experimental spacecraft returns to Earth after two-day mystery mission”)

 

China says it has successfully launched a “reusable experimental spacecraft” under increased levels of secrecy. Space industry watchers believe it to be some sort of unmanned space plane similar to the X-37B operated by the US Air Force and Space Force in recent years.

              US Air Forces’ X-37B

A short statement from China’s state-run Xinhua media outlet announced the launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Friday.

“After a period of in-orbit operation, the spacecraft will return to the scheduled landing site in China. It will test reusable technologies during its flight, providing technological support for the peaceful use of space,” the statement reads.

The mission was conducted under a veil of extra secrecy, with no official launch photos or even the time of launch made public.

“That leads one to think this is not only a space plane, it’s a military space plane,” said Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics astronomer Jonathan McDowell on a European Space Agency sponsored Zoom conference Friday.

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Tests On Mysterious UFO Stun Scientists in Chile After Bizarre Eyewitness Reports

Listen to “E124 10-12-19 Tests On Mysterious UFO Stun Scientists in Chile After Bizarre Eyewitness Reports” on Spreaker.

Article by Oli Smith                         October 4, 2019                             (express.co.uk)

• On September 25th, residents of the port city of Dalcahue in southern Chile, South America, witnessed “bright red objects streaking across the sky” and falling to the ground, crashing at seven locations around the town. Local resident Bernardita Ojeda had one fireball land on her property where the flames ignited a few bushes. Witnesses say that there was no noise associated with the impacts, nor did anyone actually witness the crash-landings.  (see 2:52 minute video below)

• Scientists initially believed these objects to be meteors. But after examining the seven sites where the ‘fireballs’ silently scorched the Earth, officials and geologists from Chile’s National Geology and Mining Service ruled out meteors and have confirmed that these ‘fireballs’ were “not natural”. The report concludes that scientists “found no remains, vestiges or evidence of a meteorite” left behind by the “luminous and incandescent” objects. (see here for official NGMS report)

• Some experts suggest that the fiery objects could have been pieces of space debris from satellites. Others have pointed to eyewitness reports to suggest an extraterrestrial source. Astronomer Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics tweeted that since there were no obvious space debris candidates, it must have been meteorites.

[Editor’s Note]   Is this further proof of a space battle between the Deep State’s secret space program and the Alliance SSP being waged above the Earth?

 

Chilean officials are investigating several bizarre burning objects that crashed into the country last week. At the time, many scientists claimed the objects had been meteors. However, officials have now confirmed the fireballs that hit Earth were “not natural” and have ruled out meteors.

Last week, residents of Dalcahue, a port city on the southern island of Chile, took to social media with reports of the unidentified flying objects.

Some posted photos of the phenomenon, as the “fireballs” reportedly crashed at a number of locations around the town.

They were described by witnesses as “bright red objects streaking across the sky”.

Geologists from Chile’s National Geology and Mining Service soon arrived to examine the seven sites that had been scorched by the mysterious UFOs.

Bizarrely, locals told the geological teams said they not heard any noises associated with the impacts, nor did anyone witness the crash-landings themselves.The scientists just released a report confirming that the sites did not hold any evidence of a fallen meteorite.

2:52 minute video on falling space debris over Chili (‘The Cosmos News’ YouTube)

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