China's Shiyan Weixing Satellite Programme, 2014-2017
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SPACE CHRONICLE A BRITISH INTERPLANETARY SOCIETY PUBLICATION Vol. 71 No.1 2018 MONUMENTAL STATUES TO LOCAL LIVING COSMONAUTS CHINA’S SHIYAN WEIXING SPEKTR AND RUSSIAN SPACE SCIENCE SATELLITE PROGRAMME FIRST PICTURES OF EARTH FROM A SOVIET SPACECRAFT REPORTING THE RIGHT STUFF? Press in Moscow During the Space Race SINO-RUSSIAN ISSUE ISBN 978-0-9567382-2-6 JANUARY 20181 Submitting papers to From the editor SPACE CHRONICLE DURING THE WEEKEND of June 3rd and 4th 2017, the 37th annual Sino- Chinese Technical Forum was held at the Society’s Headquarters in London. Space Chronicle welcomes the submission Since 1980 this gathering has grown to be one of the most popular events in the for publication of technical articles of general BIS calendar and this year was no exception. The 2017 programme included no interest, historical contributions and reviews less than 17 papers covering a wide variety of topics, including the first Rex Hall in space science and technology, astronautics Memorial Lecture given by SpaceFlight Editor David Baker and the inaugural Oleg and related fields. Sokolov Memorial Paper presented by cosmonaut Anatoli Artsebarsky. GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS Following each year’s Forum, a number of papers are selected for inclusion in a special edition of Space Chronicle. In this issue, four such papers are presented ■ As concise as the content allows – together with an associated paper that was not part the original agenda. typically 5,000 to 6,000 words. Shorter papers will also be considered. Longer The first paper, Spektr and Russian Space Science by Brian Harvey, describes the papers will only be considered in Spektr R Radio Astron radio observatory – Russia’s flagship space science project. exceptional circumstances and, at the Since its launch in 2011, Spektr has provided a wealth of new information on the discretion of the Editor, may be split into universe – although this has gone largely unreported in western countries. parts. In the second paper, Monumental Statues to the Local Living Cosmonaut, Andrew ■ Source references should be inserted in Thomas provides a personal guide and context to statues in the home towns of the text in square brackets [X] and then cosmonauts living in Russia and in the Peoples’ Republic of China. listed at the end of the paper. ■ Illustration references should be cited in In Reporting the Right Stuff?, journalist Dominic Phelan returns to the early Soviet numerical order in the text as ‘Fig.X’; those space program to explore the battles between the Kremlin censor, Soviet pressmen not cited in the text risk omission. and Moscow-based foreign correspondents who attempted to report the truth behind cosmonaut propaganda myths. ■ Captions must be labelled with their Fig. number and should be as short as possible. Phillip S. Clark presented a paper at the very first Technical Forum in 1980 ■ Illustrations should be: and has continued to do so for almost four decades. In this issue, he describes — colour or mono, but should be as close China’s Shiyan Weixing satellite programme, reviewing the launches of these “test to print resolution (300 dpi) as possible. satellites” that have taken place since 2004 and using orbital analysis in an attempt — poor-quality illustrations may to explain their missions. compromise the acceptance of paper for The final paper, The First pictures of Earth from a Soviet spacecraft, by Bart publication. Hendrickx, is a fascinating complement to those from the 2017 Forum describing — images embedded in Word documents the final two unmanned test flights of the Vostok spacecraft in March 1961. may be acceptable, but the Editor reserves Although each one carried a camera, their photographs were not released at the the right to request separate image files time since they were primarily intended to demonstrate the potential of orbital from the author prior to publication. reconnaissance at a time when the Soviet military was growing increasingly ■ Responsibility for copyright clearance frustrated with long delays in the USSR’s spy satellite programme. rests entirely with the author. These varied and informative papers highlight the commitment and depth of ■ Submission of papers for consideration research that characterise the Technical Forum. I would like to extend my thanks should be sent by email to chronicle@ to the authors for their outstanding contributions to this issue, and to all the bis.space.com as a Word document or speakers and participants at the 2017 event. Appreciation is also expressed to Gill editable PDF file, along with any separate Norman and the BIS team for supporting the Forum each year. image files. The programme for the 2018 Forum, to be held at the Society Headquarters on ■ If a paper is accepted for publication, the June 2nd and 3rd 2018, is currently being finalized. A selection of papers from that author will be asked to sign a License to event will be published in the next Sino-Chinese Space Chronicle in early 2019. Publish form. This can be downloaded at www.bis-space.com/wp-content/ David J. Shayler, FBIS uploads/2012/08/WebsiteLicense.pdf Guest Editor Coordinator & Co-Chair, BIS Sino-Chinese Technical Forum. Authors will receive a complimentary copy of the issue in which their paper appears. Editor John Becklake Production MP3 Media Promotion Gill Norman Office BIS, Arthur C. Clarke House, 27-29 South Lambeth Road, London, SW8 1SZ, UK We respectfully ask authors to adhere Telephone +44 (0)20 7735 3160 Fax +44 (0)20 7582 7167 Email [email protected] to these guidelines. Failure to do so will Website www.bis-space.com result in the delay of acceptable papers for Distribution Space Chronicle is distributed worldwide by mail and may be received by annual publication. subscription or purchase of single copies. It is available through membership of the British Interplanetary Society at much reduced rates. Subscription details for members, non-members Our full Guidelines for Authors can be and libraries are available from the above address. downloaded from www.bis-space.com Space Chronicle is a publication that promotes the mission of the British Interplanetary Society. Opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or the Council of the British Interplanetary Society. Security clearance, where necessary, is the responsibility of the author. Published by the British Interplanetary Society. Registered Company No: 402498. Registered FRONT COVER (1) Preparing Lomonosov for launch; Charity No: 250556. Printed by Latimer Trend, Estover Road, Plymouth, PL6 7PY, England. (2) Statue of Yang LiWei as if an Apsara, Húludao;ˇ (3) © 2018 British Interplanetary Society. No part of this publication may be reproduced or Model of Shiyan Weixing 3 satellite; (4) First pic- transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or ture of Earth taken by a Soviet spacecraft; (5) Frank recording by any information storage or retrieval system without prior permission from the Bourgholtzer with the crew of Voskhod 2. Publishers. 2 SPACE CHRONICLE A BRITISH INTERPLANETARY SOCIETY PUBLICATION Vol. 71 No.1 2018 Contents 5 SPEKTR AND RUSSIAN SPACE SCIENCE Brian Harvey 13 MONUMENTAL STATUES TO THE LOCAL LIVING COSMONAUT A case study of Kaliningrad (Russia) and Húludaoˇ (China) Andrew Thomas 18 REPORTING THE RIGHT STUFF? The Press in Moscow During the Space Race Dominic Phelan 22 CHINA’S SHIYAN WEIXING SATELLITE PROGRAMME Phillip S. Clark 31 FIRST PICTURES OF EARTH FROM A SOVIET SPACECRAFT Bart Henrickx OUR MISSION STATEMENT The British Interplanetary Society promotes the exploration and use of space for the benefit of humanity, connecting people to create, educate and inspire, and advance knowledge in all aspects of astronautics. 3 Contributors Brian Harvey is a writer and broadcaster on spaceflight who lives in Dublin, Ireland. He has a degree in history and political science from Trinity College and an MA from University College Dublin. His first bookRace into space – the Soviet space programme (Ellis Horwood, 1988), was followed by over a dozen more on the Russian, Chinese, European, Indian and Japanese space programmes (Praxis/ Springer). His books and extracts from them have been translated into Russian, Chinese and Korean. Andrew Thomas is a member of the BIS, a creative writer and a radio “ham” who has spoken with Jean-Pierre Haigneré aboard Mir and organised an ARISS contact between Leicester schoolchildren and the ISS in April 2003. In 2010 he completed an MA thesis entitled “Kultura Kosmosa: the Russian Popular Culture of Space Exploration”. Now in retirement, he has joined the Department of Politics at de Montfort University, Leicester, where he is working on a PhD with the working title “Popular Participation in Space Exploration in China and its Mediation to Soft Power”. Dominic Phelan was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1972, and since 1996 has worked as a freelance writer. His articles on the history of astronomy and spaceflight have appeared in SpaceFlight and Astronomy Now, and he contributed a chapter on Soviet lunar plans during the Moon race for Footprints in the Dust (University of Nebraska Press, 2010). He is the Editor of the 2013 Praxis/Springer title Cold War Space Sleuths: The Untold Secrets of the Soviet Space Program which, for the first time, reveals the inside story of the amateur ‘spies’, many of them regular presenters at the BIS Forum, who monitored the Soviet space program during the Cold War. Phillip S. Clark presented a paper at the very first Technical Forum in 1980 and traditionally has delivered the final presentation at most of the subsequently meetings. Since 1969 Phil has focused on Soviet/ Russian and Chinese spaceflight, and has been a space consultant for many years. The author of the popular 1988 book The Soviet Manned Space Programme he has regularly published papers in JBIS and SpaceFlight.