[FPSPACE] Tiangong and Shenzhou

Wed Nov 16 11:57:02 EST 2011

There would be no use leaving the SZ-8 OM in orbit. It has no manoeuvring engines or solar panels and no further purpose. SZ-7's OM was not used either, except as a passive traget for the microsatellite.

Luc van den Abeelen

From: jbcharle at gmail.com
Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:34:48 -0600
To: PeterRBond at aol.com
CC: fpspace at www.friends-partners.org
Subject: Re: [FPSPACE] Tiangong and Shenzhou

Nothing to add to Peter's post (except a roll of the eyes at JDW equating the Shenzhou microsatellite and an interceptor). 
But a couple of related questions. (1) do we expect Shenzhou 8 to leave its orbital compartment in orbit? If do, to what end?(2) did any of its predecessors fail to do so?

JBCSent from my iPhone. Please forgive typos. 
On Nov 16, 2011, at 9:28, "PeterRBond at aol.com" <PeterRBond at aol.com> wrote:

Dear All,

Would anyone like to comment on the veracity of this recent item in Jane's 
Defence Weekly? The mention of manoeuvring to watch the microsatellite launch 
seems far-fetched and I haven't come across this before.

Peter Bond

China's successful space 
docking paves the way for military missions 

China's launch of the 
Shenzhou-8 unmanned spacecraft and its docking with the Tiangong-1 space 
laboratory 340 km above the Earth is the latest sign of the country's growing 
space ambitions. While the 3 November docking was a nationally televised event 
with Communist Party Politburo members and People's Liberation Army leaders at 
the control centre in Beijing, little attention has been paid to the mission's 
military significance.

The Long March 2F launch 
vehicle for Shenzhou-8 used iterative computers and indigenous navigation 
systems to achieve orbital placement accuracy to within 12 m, prompting one 
Chinese expert to tell the South China Morning Post "This time we showed other 
countries that we can deliver a payload to any location, which means we can also 
bring down any object in near space." 

Like many previous 
Shenzhou manned and unmanned missions, Tiangong-1 is a dual-use platform. 
Shenzhou-1 was equipped with an electronic intelligence (ELINT)-gathering 
system; Shenzhou-3 tested a new radar imaging system, while Shenzhou-5 carried 
two large optical imaging cameras in addition to China's first astronaut. In 
September 2008 Shenzhou-7 carried China's first space walker, but also made a 
close pass 27 miles from the International Space Station just after it launched 
an 88 lb (40 kg) microsatellite, demonstrating a co-orbital interception 
capability. Tiangong-1 is also equipped with two cylinders between its crew and 
service sections that could accommodate high-resolution cameras or launchers for 
nanosatellites. On 3 November a government spokesperson said Tiangong-1 will 
conduct Earth-observation experiments. Chinese sources also reported that 
Tiangong-2, to be launched by 2015, will focus on Earth-and space-observation 
missions. 
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