. 24/7 Space News .
DRAGON SPACE
Xi calls on Wenchang to build world-class spaceport
by Staff Writers
Wenchang (XNA) Apr 15, 2022

President Xi Jinping inspects the launching tower and other facilities at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan province on April 12, 2022. He extended his greetings to all the staff stationed at the site.

President Xi Jinping has called on the Wenchang Space Launch Center in the southern island province of Hainan to build itself into a world-class spaceport.

Xi made the remark on Tuesday afternoon as he visited the launch complex, the newest and southernmost of its kind in China.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said that the Wenchang center must uphold a spirit of hard work and perseverance, research the latest developments in the global space field and the strategic needs of China's space industry, strengthen its sense of mission and responsibility, take the lead in innovation and comprehensively boost its space launch capabilities.

He stressed that the facility is tasked with servicing China's new-generation, heavy-lift carrier rockets and it plays a significant role in the country's deep-space exploration endeavors, making it quite unique in the nation's space sector.

The president said the center should make full plans and preparations for upcoming launch missions, which will deploy multiple spacecraft in orbit to complete China's Tiangong space station. It should strive to make all these missions successful and make new achievements to welcome the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which is scheduled to be held later this year.

Accompanied by General Zhang Youxia, a vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, and several other high-ranking military officers, Xi inspected launch towers and other infrastructure and listened to a report about the center's condition and development plan and the preparatory work for upcoming missions.

According to a report on China Central Television, Xi was given a guided tour of the assembly and testing halls of the Tianzhou 4 cargo spaceship and the Long March 7 carrier rocket that will take the cargo craft into space.

Through this tour, Xi has completed his inspections of all of China's space launch facilities.

In February 2013, he visited the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, which was his first inspection of a Chinese space launch base following his election as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

In June 2017, he inspected the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province, and he visited the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province in February 2018.

After years of selection and discussion, the central government decided to build a launch site in Wenchang, Hainan province, in 2007.

Construction work started in September 2009 and was completed in October 2014. The first launch at the facility took place in June 2016 with the debut of the Long March 7 rocket.

Covering about 12 square kilometers, the equivalent of 1,700 soccer fields, the center is tasked with launching heavyweight satellites, deep-space probes, and components of the Tiangong space station.

The biggest advantage of the facility is its low latitude-only 19 degrees north of the equator, which enables rockets to save considerable fuel and to carry heavier payloads, compared with launches from the other three centers in China.

So far, the Wenchang center has serviced 16 launch missions. It is the only launch facility in China capable of launching Long March 5-series rockets, the biggest and most powerful in the country's rocket fleet.

China's Chang'e 5 lunar probe, the Tianwen 1 Mars explorer and the Tiangong space station's core module were all launched from the facility.

Source: Xinhua News Agency


Related Links
China National Space Agency
The Chinese Space Program - News, Policy and Technology
China News from SinoDaily.com


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


DRAGON SPACE
Shenzhou 13 astronauts ready to return
Beijing (XNA) Apr 15, 2022
China's Shenzhou XIII mission crew have completed all of their tasks and will return to Earth, according to the China Manned Space Agency. The agency said on Thursday night that the astronauts - Major General Zhai Zhigang, Senior Colonel Wang Yaping and Senior Colonel Ye Guangfu - will leave the Tiangong space station in due course. Their reentry capsule will touch down at the Dongfeng landing site in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. By Thursday night, the crew had finished preparations ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

DRAGON SPACE
Report identifies priority planetary science mission and planetary defense efforts as strategic investments

Artemis astronauts will ride in style in new crew transportation vehicles

Russian cosmonauts activate robotic arm on ISS during spacewalk

Venice readies day-trip booking system to ease crowds

DRAGON SPACE
NASA Crew-4 preps for launch but liftoff delayed as Ax-1 mission waits to leave ISS

NASA builds welding test article for SLS Exploration Upper Stage

SpaceX launches second U.S. reconnaissance satellite on Falcon 9 rocket

NASA moon rocket headed back to Vehicle Assembly Building after testing delays

DRAGON SPACE
Perseverance at the Delta

Sols 3446-3448: Weekend workload

Mars rover searches for evidence of past life at ancient river delta

Divide and conquer: Mars rovers to be superseded by swarms of two-wheeled robots

DRAGON SPACE
China reveals missions of Shenzhou-14, Shenzhou-15 space crews

Core module of China's space station achieves anticipated goal

Tianzhou-3 docks with Tianhe's front docking port

Shenzhou XIII mission a success in testing tech for space station

DRAGON SPACE
CGI supports creation of the European satellite constellation UN:IO

Kymeta to offer mission-critical LEO connectivity through OneWeb Technologies

European Space Agency stops cooperation with Russian lunar missions

Intelsat supports programmers with cloud connect media

DRAGON SPACE
Embry-Riddle to develop camera system for upcoming Polaris Dawn Space Mission

ReOrbit and TransAstra sign spacecraft development and logistics contracts

Today's space domain awareness just got better as new AFRL Space Lab opens

USAFSAM course concludes with successful radiation assessment field exercise

DRAGON SPACE
Diverse life forms may have evolved earlier than previously thought

A Beacon in the Galaxy: Updated Arecibo Message for Potential FAST and SETI Projects

Hubble probes extreme weather on ultra-hot Jovian exoplanets

Cosmic SETI ready to stream data for technosignature research from Jansky VLA

DRAGON SPACE
Water on Jupiter's moon closer to surface than thought: study

Abundant features on Europa bodes well for search for extraterrestrial life

Jupiter's moon has splendid dunes

Four billion-year-old relic from early solar system heading our way









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.