|
 |
 advertisement
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Microspace Technology Comes to China
By Frank Sietzen, Jr.
Special to SPACE.com
posted: 04:04 pm ET
19 October 2000
|
WASHINGTON, Oct WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 -- The technology of small space -- smaller satellites and thus smaller costs, but with big technology and scientific payoffs -- has come to China. The new technology, in the form of the Tsinghua 1 satellite, came courtesy of a British satellite-maker and a rocket ride aboard a Russian booster. The resulting success has implications for China's scientific programs -- as well as for enhanced military satellite capabilities.Tsinghua 1, China's first microsatellite, was a joint project of Tsinghua University in Beijing and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. The Guildford, U.K.-company specializes in the design and operation of micro- and nano-sized satellites. The micro-craft usually weigh between 22 and 220 pounds (10 and 100 kilograms) and fit inside the nosecones of smaller booster rockets -- either clustered in groups as the rocket's main payloads or piggybacked with other, larger primary satellites. The satellite used in the Tsinghua experiment weighed in at 110 pounds (50 kilograms). The Tsinghua 1 was launched June 28 by a Russian-made Kosmos 3M booster from Russia's military spaceport at Plesetsk as one of three small satellites. The orbital trio arrived safely in a 403-mile (650-kilometer) high sun-synchronous Earth orbit. The satellite was designed by Surrey and built through a cooperative arrangement with Beijing students. A joint Tsinghua-Surrey team designed the bus to hold the satellite's instruments, selected the correct type of experiments and watched over the craft's instrument package as it was integrated into the satellite.
Image of Tsinghua-1 taken from SNAP satellite after separation from Kosmos booster. Selected for the mission were a multispectral Earth-imaging camera and a store-and-forward communications system. Other instruments include a digital signal processor, a GPS satellite receiver and a spacecraft attitude control system. The camera aboard Tsinghua 1 can image objects up to 128 feet (39 meters) in three spectral bands. But what makes the microsat test important is how it fits into the next step in the technology program. Sets of five microsats, using the Tsinghua 1 design, will be orbited as part of a Disaster Monitoring and Mitigation system. Beginning in 2002, the constellation will conduct daily high-resolution imaging of China to track natural and human-made disasters. Chinese scientists and engineers will use the data to quickly respond to the accidents. ~ But while the intent of the microsat project is purely scientific in nature, its capabilities have not been lost on military experts. The remote-sensing systems aboard the satellite could also be used for reconnaissance purposes, allowing China to monitor the military forces and preparations of neighbors such as Taiwan and Japan. And the satellite also has demonstrated the ability to maneuver and station-keep with neighboring spacecraft, a capability that has military implications for future satellite designs. Small, microsat satellites used in future reconnaissance roles could be quickly built and launched aboard Chinese space boosters in a "pop-up" capability as needed for military assignments. The advanced cameras aboard Tsinghua 1, plus the technology of its microsat design, could be applied to Chinese space-reconnaissance programs in the future. Shortly after launch, one of the satellites orbited with Tsinghua 1 made a first-ever space rendezvous of microsats, sending back pictures of the Tsinghua 1, just 30 feet (9 meters) away. The whole purpose was to demonstrate the ability of small satellites to carry out automated space rendezvous and observe other satellites. A second space rendezvous with Tsinghua 1 as the passive partner will be attempted next month, Surrey engineers said. A similar space test of U.S. microsats, proposed by the Air Force under a program called Clementine 2, was vetoed by President Clinton in 1996.
|
|
|
|
|
advertisement
