Long March Bivouacs Unannounced

On August 27, at 4:06 AM Eastern Time, The home-owner became aware of forced entry.  Investigation proved to be the mother of all break-ins.  

The unwelcome guest, the Chinese homeowner was experiencing proved to be the first stage engine from a  Long March 4C rocket.   The three-stage rocket in question  lifted off at 10:31 PM U.S. Eastern Time on Aug. 27.  It's mission: to launch China’s new Yaogan-27 satellite which was a success - however the first stage was jettisoned over northeast China’s Shanxi province.   Since the Taiyuan Launch Base is also in Shanxi Province  and completely land locked, its a given that this type of mishap was bound to happen at one time or another.   

The complete Gizmodo article can be found HERE

China Has A What?!!

Yep, my little motorcycle dude hit me with another today.  Check this out....China has a space station.
Yeah you read that right - on June 13th just two days after launch, a Chinese Shenzhou 10 space capsule carrying a crew of three docked with the nation's orbiting Tiangong 1 space module .

According to the Space.com article the crew consisted of :

•  Nie Haisheng, Zhang Xiaoguang and Wang Yaping — the second female Chinese astronaut to fly in space 
  

Now for more DAMN I DIDN'T KNOW THAT! stuff..... This was China's fifth manned mission (oh come on!)  This is the last of three missions to test space based docking procedures.   The Tiangong 1 has been orbiting Earth since Sept. 2011. Its schedule calls for it to remain operational for another three months.  This crew is the second to dock with the module.  

China plans to take what they learn here and apply it to a larger station in 2020 which eventually have 3 interconnected modules.

Here is the link to the complete space.com article

China's 1st lunar probe ready for launch

China has finished assembling its first lunar satellite probe after three years of research and development, Luan Enjie, chief commander of the country's lunar exploration program, told Xinhua Tuesday. The carrier rocket, a Long March 3-A, which will be used to push the orbiter, Chang'e I, into the outer space, is currently under testing," Luan said on the sidelines of the annual session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top advisory body. The orbiter will provide 3D images of the moon's surface, probe the distribution of 14 usable elements on the moon, study lunar microwaves and estimate the thickness of the moon's soil.

posted by Shaun a. Saunders