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China's fourth space launch center to be in use in two years
BEIJING, Mar 02, 2013 (Xinhua via COMTEX) --
China's fourth launch center,
located in tropical island province of Hainan, will be ready for
space launch in two years, said a member of China's top political
advisory body.
The launch center, which has been under construction since
2009, will be able to launch space station capsules and cargo
ships, Zhou Jianping, designer-in-chief of China's manned space
program, told Xinhua on Saturday.
The carrier rockets to be launched in the Hainan center include
Long March-7 and Long March-5, said Zhou, a member of the National
Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
(CPPCC).
Construction of the Hainan Space Launch Center, the lowest
latitude one in China, started in September 2009 in Wenchang City,
on the northeast coast of the tropical island province.
The center will be mainly used for launching synchronous
satellites, heavy satellites, large space stations, and deep space
probe satellites. It is designed to handle up to 10-12 rocket
launches a year.
China currently has three space launch bases, namely, the
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the desert of northwest China's
Gansu Province, the nation's only manned spacecraft launch center;
the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi
Province, capable of launching satellites into both medium and low
orbits; and the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, mainly to launch
powerful-thrust rockets and geostationary satellites in southwest
China's Sichuan Province.
The three launch sites have carried out over 100 space
launches, sending over 100 satellites into space.
However, the three launch centers are all landlocked in western
or northern plateau and mountainous regions, lack commercial
development and are inconvenient for transportation.
Long Lehao, a carrier rocket expert with the Chinese Academy of
Engineering, previously said that rockets to be launched from
Wenchang would consume less fuel to get into orbit, because of its
better location.
"A satellite launched from Wenchang will be able to extend its
service life by three years as a result of the fuel saved from the
shorter manoeuvre from the transit orbit to the geosynchronous
orbit," Long said.
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