Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center Research Articles

Q-SAT for atmosphere and gravity field detection: Design, mission and preliminary results

Q-SAT, a small spherical satellite designed and developed by Tsinghua university, was successfully launched on Aug 6, 2020 at Jiuquan satellite launch center in China. The mission of Q-Sat is the joint measurement of long-wavelength Earth gravity field and upper atmosphere density, which is of great significance for improving spacecraft orbit prediction and promoting the development of satellite gravity measurement technology. The satellite is designed in spherical shape innovatively and deploys high dynamic dual-frequency GPS as the main payload. On-orbit data shows that the atmospheric density detection precision is in the order of 10−14kg/m3 and the gravity recovery precision achieves the level of 30 orders. All mission success criteria and objectives were achieved. This paper presents the design, space mission, key technologies, science capabilities and preliminary results of the satellite.

First Assessment of GF3-02 SAR Ocean Wind Retrieval

On 23 November 2021, the Gaofen-3-02 (GF3-02) satellite was successfully launched in the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center of China. The primary payload is C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), with a maximum resolution of 1 m, and includes 12 imaging modes such as Spotlight, Strip, and TOPSAR, which will play an essential role in marine environment monitoring. As an important marine environmental parameter, the wind speed accuracy retrieved by GF3-02 SAR directly reflects its performance and effectiveness as an operational product. Therefore, based on the wind data of buoys of the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), ECMWF reanalysis V5 (ERA5), and HY-2B Scatterometer (SCA), a preliminary accuracy assessment of the wind speed retrieved by GF3-02 SAR is carried out in this paper. The wind speed retrieval accuracy of GF3-02 SAR in the co-polarization (HH+VV) data under different Geophysical Model Functions (GMFs) is discussed by using 478 level-1A Single Look Complex (SLC) ocean products acquired in Quad-Polarization Strip I (QPSI) and produced by the National Satellite Ocean Application Service (NSOAS) from January to March 2022. The results show that the optimal root mean square errors (RMSE) are 1.40 m/s, 1.18 m/s, and 1.24 m/s for the VV polarization and 1.39 m/s, 1.19 m/s, and 1.52 m/s for the HH polarization compared to the NDBC wind speed, the ERA5 wind speed, and the HY-2B SCA wind speed, respectively. The preliminary results show that GF3-02 SAR has good wind speed retrieval ability and can meet the needs of operational products.

FY-3E: The First Operational Meteorological Satellite Mission in an Early Morning Orbit

Fengyun-3E (FY-3E), the world’s first early-morning-orbit meteorological satellite for civil use, was launched successfully at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on 5 July 2021. The FY-3E satellite will fill the vacancy of the global early-morning-orbit satellite observation, working together with the FY-3C and FY-3D satellites to achieve the data coverage of early morning, morning, and afternoon orbits. The combination of these three satellites will provide global data coverage for numerical weather prediction (NWP) at 6-hour intervals, effectively improving the accuracy and time efficiency of global NWP, which is of great significance to perfect the global earth observing system. In this article, the background and meteorological requirements for the early-morning-orbit satellite are reviewed, and the specifications of the FY-3E satellite, as well as the characteristics of the onboard instrumentation for earth observations, are also introduced. In addition, the ground segment and the retrieved geophysical products are also presented. It is believed that the NWP communities will significantly benefit from an optimal temporal distribution of observations provided by the early morning, mid-morning, and afternoon satellite missions. Further benefits are expected in numerous applications such as the monitoring of severe weather/climate events, the development of improved sampling designs of the diurnal cycle for accurate climate data records, more efficient monitoring of air quality by thermal infrared remote sensing, and the quasi-continuous monitoring of the sun for space weather and climate.

The electronics of the High-Energy Particle Detector on board the CSES-01 satellite

CSES (China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite) is a Chinese–Italian scientific space mission dedicated to monitor the variations of the main parameters of the topside ionosphere (electric and magnetic fields, plasma parameters, charge particle fluxes) caused by either natural emitters – especially earthquakes – or artificial ones.The CSES satellite was successfully launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center located in the west of Inner Mongolia on February 2nd, 2018, and it is now orbiting under nominal conditions. The expected mission lifetime amounts to 5 years. CSES is the first element of a multi-satellite monitoring system; several satellites are scheduled for the next few years.The High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD) is the main contribution of the Italian collaboration to the mission. It was designed and built in order to detect electrons in the energy range between 3 and 100 MeV, protons between 30 and 200 MeV, and light nuclei in the MeV energy window.The electronics of the detector was designed following stringent requirements on mechanical and thermal stability, power consumption, radiation hardness and double redundancy. The system successfully went through the space qualification tests. In this paper, we describe the HEPD electronics, the space qualification tests performed before launch, and the in-flight performance of the detector.

Beam test calibrations of the HEPD detector on board the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite

CSES (China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite) is a Chinese-Italian space mission dedicated to monitoring of variations of the electromagnetic field and waves, plasma parameters, and particle fluxes induced by natural sources and artificial emitters in the near-Earth space. The satellite was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert (Inner Mongolia, China) on 2, 2018. The expected mission lifetime amounts to 5 years.The Italian contribution to the mission includes the design and construction of the High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD), aimed to detect electrons in the energy range between 3 and 100 MeV and protons between 30 and 200 MeV, as well as light nuclei in the MeV energy range.In this paper, we describe the calibration procedures applied to HEPD based on data acquired during two tests at accelerator laboratories, which were performed on HEPD Flight Model prior to the delivery to China for final integration. An additional acquisition of cosmic muons was performed in order to better characterize the detector response before launch.

Design and on-orbit status of the trigger system for the DAMPE mission

DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE), the first Chinese astronomical satellite, was successfully launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on 2015 Dec. 17. DAMPE consists of four subdetectors: Plastic Scintillator array Detector (PSD), Silicon-Tungsten tracKer-converter (STK), Bismuth Germanium Oxide (BGO) imaging calorimeter and NeUtron Detector (NUD). The global hardware trigger signal, which is generated by hits from the BGO calorimeter and the trigger logic board in the data acquisition system (DAQ), is responsible for event selection and DAQ synchronization of DAMPE. On orbit, to improve the detection efficiency, different trigger logics are used for event selection in different regions of latitude. The DAMPE trigger system compresses the average on-orbit trigger rate to 60Hz and reduces science data mass to less than 13GB per day to meet the requirement for the satellite’s data link. The whole trigger system has run stably up to now, ensuring excellent on-orbit operation of DAMPE.

The HEPD detector on board CSES satellite: in-flight performance

In this paper we will present a description of the High Energy Particle Detector (HEPD) onboard the China Seismo Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES) and its (preliminary) performance in flight.CSES mission aims at monitoring electromagnetic field, plasma and particles perturbations of atmosphere and inner Van Allen belts caused by solar and terrestrial phenomena and to the study of the low energy component of the cosmic rays.The satellite was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center located in west of inner Mongolia on February 2nd, 2018 and is now orbiting in nominal condition. It hosts several instruments onboard: two magnetometers, an electrical field detector, a plasma analyser, a Langmuir probe and two particle detectors.The high energy particle detector (HEPD), designed and built by the Italian Limadou collaboration, is able to separate electrons and protons and identify nuclei up to Iron. HEPD provides good energy resolution and high angular resolution for electrons (3-100 MeV) and proton (30-200 MeV). The instrument consists of: 2 planes of double-side silicon microstrip sensors placed on the top of the instrument (direction of particle); 2 two layers of plastic scintillators (trigger) and a calorimeter (constituted by other 16 scintillators and a layer of LYSO sensors). A scintillator veto system completes the instrument. The commissioning of the HEPD and the other instruments on board was successfully completed in July 2018.

Simulation and Practice of Condensation Recovery of Nitrogen Tetroxide Based on HYSYS

The theoretical calculation results of the condensation recovery rate and the required cooling power of an engineering application unit shown that condensation recovery of N2O4 in the waste gas is feasible and valuable in engineering applications.A simulation model was performed by using HYSYS and according to condensate-recovery process flow. Thus two important engineering parameters were simulated which included the thermal load of condensation system and the flow of glycol-water solution. The test results of an engineering application device based on these parameters at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center indicated that the recovery efficiency can be above 90.0%, the purity of N2O4 recovered can be up to 99.6%.

Helium flux and elemental composition of galactic Cosmic Rays with the DAMPE space mission

DAMPE (DArk Matter Particle Explorer) is a space mission project promoted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with Universities and Institutes from China, Italy and Switzerland. The detector is collecting data in a stable sun-synchronous orbit lasting 95 minutes at an altitude of about 500 km. It has been launched in December 17th, 2015, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, in the Gobi Desert. The main goals of the mission are: indirect search for Dark Matter, looking for signatures in the electron and photon spectra with energies up to 10 TeV; analysis of the flux and composition of primary Cosmic Rays with energies up to hundreds of TeV; high energy gamma-ray astronomy. Preliminary results about the Helium flux and Cosmic Ray composition will be presented and discussed.

The HEPD detector on board CSES satellite: In flight performance

Abstract CSES (China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite) is a scientific mission dedicated to monitoring electromagnetic field , plasma and particles perturbations of atmosphere and inner Van Allen belts caused by solar and terrestrial phenomena and to the study of the low energy component of the cosmic rays. The satellite hosts several instruments onboard: two magnetometers , an electrical field detector, a plasma analyser, a Langmuir probe and two particle detectors . It has been successfully launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center located in west of inner Mongolia on February 2 2018 and is now orbiting in nominal condition. The high energy particle detector (HEPD), designed and built by the Italian “Limadou” collaboration, aims at investigating precipitation of trapped particles induced by atmospheric EM emissions, as well as by the seismo-electromagnetic disturbances. HEPD provides good energy resolution and high angular resolution for electrons (3–100 MeV) and proton (30–200 MeV). The instrument consists of: 2 planes of double-side silicon microstrip sensors placed on the top of the instrument (direction of particle); 2 two layers of plastic scintillators (trigger) and a calorimeter (constituted by other 16 scintillators and a layer of LYSO sensors). A scintillator veto system completes the instrument. The commissioning of the HEPD and the other instruments on board is in progress and will last several months. In this contribution we will describe the HEPD detector and the (preliminary) performance in flight.

SHARPENDING OF THE VNIR AND SWIR BANDS OF THE WIDE BAND SPECTRAL IMAGER ONBOARD TIANGONG-II IMAGERY USING THE SELECTED BANDS

Abstract. The Tiangong-II space lab was launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center of China on September 15, 2016. The Wide Band Spectral Imager (WBSI) onboard the Tiangong-II has 14 visible and near-infrared (VNIR) spectral bands covering the range from 403–990 nm and two shortwave infrared (SWIR) bands covering the range from 1230–1250 nm and 1628–1652 nm respectively. In this paper the selected bands are proposed which aims at considering the closest spectral similarities between the VNIR with 100 m spatial resolution and SWIR bands with 200 m spatial resolution. The evaluation of Gram-Schmidt transform (GS) sharpening techniques embedded in ENVI software is presented based on four types of the different low resolution pan band. The experimental results indicated that the VNIR band with higher CC value with the raw SWIR Band was selected, more texture information was injected the corresponding sharpened SWIR band image, and at that time another sharpened SWIR band image preserve the similar spectral and texture characteristics to the raw SWIR band image.

The HEPD particle detector of the CSES satellite mission for investigating seismo-associated perturbations of the Van Allen belts

CSES (China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite) is a mission developed by CNSA (Chinese National Space Administration) and ASI (Italian Space Agency), to investigate the near-Earth electromagnetic, plasma and particle environment, for studying the seismo-associated disturbances in the ionosphere-magnetosphere transition zone. The anthropogenic and electromagnetic noise, as well as the natural non-seismic electromagnetic emissions is mainly due to tropospheric activity. In particular, the mission aims to confirming the existence of possible temporal correlations between the occurrence of earthquakes for medium and strong magnitude and the observation in space of electromagnetic perturbations, plasma variations and precipitation of bursts with high-energy charged particles from the inner Van Allen belt. In this framework, the high energy particle detector (HEPD) of the CSES mission has been developed by the Italian LIMADOU Collaboration. HEPD is an advanced detector based on a tower of scintillators and a silicon tracker that provides good energy and angular resolution and a wide angular acceptance, for electrons of 3–100 MeV, protons of 30–200 MeV and light nuclei up to the oxygen. CSES satellite has been launched on February 2$^{\rm~nd}$, 2018 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (China).

Status of the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (Insight-HXMT) Project

The Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT) was launched at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on June 15, 2017, and was named as Insight-HXMT after the launch. Now all the instruments work properly in space, dozens of sources have been observed, and some early scientific results have been published. The nominal lifetime of Insight-HXMT is 4 years.

The DArk Matter Particle Explorer mission

The DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE), one of the four scientific space science missions within the framework of the Strategic Pioneer Program on Space Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is a general purpose high energy cosmic-ray and gamma-ray observatory, which was successfully launched on December 17th, 2015 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The DAMPE scientific objectives include the study of galactic cosmic rays up to ∼ 10 TeV and hundreds of TeV for electrons/gammas and nuclei respectively, and the search for dark matter signatures in their spectra. In this paper we illustrate the layout of the DAMPE instrument, and discuss the results of beam tests and calibrations performed on ground. Finally we present the expected performance in space and give an overview of the mission key scientific goals.

Feasibility and economic analysis of a renewable energy powered special town in China

The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) is a relatively isolated special zone in the northwest region of China. The potential risk to the energy supply security and the pressure of national greenhouse gas emissions reduction clearly indicates the JSLC's need to lower its dependency on imported fossil fuels and electricity. This article presents a feasibility analysis on the available hybrid energy system based on the renewable energy availability and local electricity demand estimation in 2020 through HOMER model. The simulation results indicate that cost of energy (COE) of the three proposed options are 0.127, 0.033 and 0.123$/kWh, respectively. It also shows that the proposed hybrid renewable energy systems can reduce carbon emissions by 40–70% compared to electricity from the existing power grid. A sensitivity analysis reveals that the COE has a significant positive relationship with carbon price and discount rate, whereas carbon price shows a significantly distinct impact on the COE for different options considered. The optimization results also show that a grid-connected renewable power system comprised of wind power and natural gas power plant is the most economic and environment-friendly energy supply option for JSLC. However, a hybrid RE system with a local energy storage facility can better guarantee the energy supply safety considering the special function and security needs of the JSLC. This study verified that constructing new coal fired power plants is not a suitable choice from both the cost effectiveness and environmental protection perspectives.

A Study of Atmospheric Temperature and Wind Profiles Obtained from Rocketsondes in the Chinese Midlatitude Region

AbstractIn November 2004, five TK-1 meteorological rockets were launched at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China for the first time. The observations are compared with models, reanalysis, and satellite datasets. The mean differences of temperature between the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) and the rocketsondes are about 0.7–2.4 K in the stratosphere and −6 K in the mesosphere. The temperature biases between the Naval Research Laboratory Mass Spectrometer and Incoherent Scatter Radar, Exosphere (NRLMSISE-00)/Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM), and the rocketsondes are small (~1–2 K) in the lower stratosphere and largest near the stratopause. Both models strongly overestimated the temperature by 11 K on average. The discrepancies of horizontal winds between the Horizontal Wind Model 07 (HWM07)/WACCM and the rocketsondes reached the maximum in the upper stratosphere and the lower mesosphere. The westerly observed zonal winds and equatorward meridional winds were two interesting phenomena that led to large biases in the upper stratosphere, which need further study.

German SIMBOX on Chinese mission Shenzhou-8: Europe's first bilateral cooperation utilizing China's Shenzhou programme

On November 1, 2011, at 05:58 local time, the Chinese spaceship Shenzhou-8 was launched for a 17-day mission with a Long March rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Mongolia desert. On board was the German SIMBOX (Science in Microgravity Box) experimental facility containing 17 bio-medical experiments, which were conducted by German researchers together with their Chinese colleagues. It was the first time that China cooperated with a European nation in the scientific utilization of Shenzhou – the core element of China's human spaceflight programme.The German Aerospace Center's (DLR) Space Administration was responsible for the entire SIMBOX hardware development and the project management of the German part of the mission on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi). DLR's partner in this cooperation was the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO; now CMSA — China Manned Space Agency) which took charge of the accommodation of SIMBOX on Shenzhou-8 and the overall mission. During the flight, plants, threadworms, snails, bacteria, and human cancer, thyroid and immune cells were exposed to weightlessness and cosmic radiation of space. Scientists used these special conditions prevailing in space as a tool to tackle fundamental biological and medical questions that also play an important role on the Earth. For example, researchers from the Universities of Erlangen and Wuhan performed joint studies on a mini ecosystem with snails and algae. The SIMBOX facility accommodated a total of 44 experimental units developed by Astrium Space Transportation, each approximately the size of a smartphone and specifically designed according to the requirements of the scientists. Some of the experimental units were placed in a centrifuge producing Earth-like gravity for reference purposes. On the evening of November 17, Shenzhou-8 landed on schedule in the Chinese part of the Gobi Desert in Inner Mongolia, completing a successful 17-day mission. Within a few hours SIMBOX was retrieved and transported back to Beijing where the specimens were handed over to the scientists for evaluation in their home laboratories.The flight of Shenzhou-8 and the successful rendezvous and docking with Tiangong-1 represents a milestone in China's path towards its own space station, which is expected to be fully operational by 2020. SIMBOX on Shenzhou-8 has opened up a completely new partnership in human spaceflight for Germany and was a first step towards research in space with international partners utilizing China's manned space programme.

Severe disruption of the cytoskeleton and immunologically relevant surface molecules in a human macrophageal cell line in microgravity—Results of an in vitro experiment on board of the Shenzhou-8 space mission

During spaceflight the immune system is one of the most affected systems of the human body. During the SIMBOX (Science in Microgravity Box) mission on Shenzhou-8, we investigated microgravity-associated long-term alterations in macrophageal cells, the most important effector cells of the immune system. We analyzed the effect of long-term microgravity on the cytoskeleton and immunologically relevant surface molecules. Human U937 cells were differentiated into a macrophageal phenotype and exposed to microgravity or 1g on a reference centrifuge on-orbit for 5 days. After on-orbit fixation, the samples were analyzed with immunocytochemical staining and confocal microscopy after landing. The unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft was launched on board a Long March 2F (CZ-2F) rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) and landed after a 17-day-mission. We found a severely disturbed actin cytoskeleton, disorganized tubulin and distinctly reduced expression of CD18, CD36 and MHC-II after the 5 days in microgravity. The disturbed cytoskeleton, the loss of surface receptors for bacteria recognition, the activation of T lymphocytes, the loss of an important scavenger receptor and of antigen-presenting molecules could represent a dysfunctional macrophage phenotype. This phenotype in microgravity would be not capable of migrating or recognizing and attacking pathogens, and it would no longer activate the specific immune system, which could be investigated in functional assays. Obviously, the results have to be interpreted with caution as the model system has some limitations and due to numerous technical and biological restrictions (e.g. 23°C and no CO2 supply during in-flight incubation). All parameter were carefully pre-tested on ground. Therefore, the experiment could be adapted to the experimental conditions available on Shenzhou-8.

Comprehensive assessment of the accuracy of the data from near space meteorological rocket sounding

We use the data obtained from empirical forecast model and satellite remote sensing to analyze and assess the accuracy of the data obtained from first near space meteorological rocket sounding in Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) in November 2004. Analysis shows that the data of empirical forecast model has great difference from meteorological rocket sounding data for the middle-upper stratosphere. Because the empirical forecast model has low spatial and temporal resolution, especially it lacks of the sounding data for the middle-upper stratosphere in China, the deviation between the data of meteorological rocket and the satellite data is obviouslly lower than the empirical forecast model gave. The deviation is caused by the systematic error between the two and the difference of time, latitude and longitude. Comprehensive comparison results show that the data of meteorological rocket is of high accuracy and credibility compared to the data of the empirical forecast model and satellite remote sensing. These data can be used to specify the probe’s results from other ways.

The current situation of China manned aerospace technology and the direction for its further development

At 9:00 am October 15, 2003, Shenzhou 5, with China's first astronaut Yang Liwei onboard, was launched into space on a LM-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. After 21 hours and 23 minutes’ flight, the return module landed on the grasslands in central Inner Mongolia at 6:23 am October 16. China's first manned space flight achieved a complete success. This paper will briefly introduce the Shenzhou spaceship and its development. The further development of China manned aerospace technology is also mentioned.