China
2008 – Evolving National Space Policies
The activities of spacefaring nations increased in 2008, and the policies of those and other countries continue to evolve. These policy changes often reflect the need to fund or authorize activities in response to steps taken by other national space programs, particularly when matters of national de… Thank you for visiting The Space Report! The…
2008 – Military Space Activity
The United States, Europe, and Japan all took steps in 2008 that will affect the direction and prominence of their military space activities in coming years. The increasing reliance of governments on space-based capabilities makes military space systems valuable national assets. Demonstrations of an… Thank you for visiting The Space Report! The Authoritative Guide to…
2008 – Civil Space Activity
The trend of globalization in space activity continues, with nations entering into agreements to use each other’s infrastructure and space assets. Two decades ago only the United States, the Soviet Union, Europe, and China regularly launched and deployed satellites and other missions to space. Today… Thank you for visiting The Space Report! The Authoritative Guide…
Pinpointing Pollution Prior to Olympics
Beijing Olympic organizers used remote sensing data from a U.S. satellite to analyze aerosol levels in and around Beijing before the games. The data enabled researchers to pinpoint reasons for the pollution and suggest ways to reduce it.
Disaster Charter Provides Timely Imagery to Response Teams
One of the key challenges in a flood involves getting timely and accurate information regarding flood-affected areas. Satellite imagery can mitigate the magnitude of flood damage by providing response teams with an overall image of the flooded area.
Olympic Swimgear Redefined
Perhaps the highest visibility for a space technology spinoff in 2008 was the migration of technology used for space shuttle drag research into the design of the low-friction swimwear worn by a number of Olympic competitors, including multiple gold medalwinner Michael Phelps.
2008 – BeiDou
China is planning to supplement its Compass Satellite network already in development. In April 2007, China launched BeiDou-2, the first MEO satellite for Compass. Plans have been announced for the launch of ## PNT satellites over the next two years. This network, limited to the Asia Pacific region initially, may be operational by the end of 2010.
2008 – China Launch, Payload
China’s increasing participation in space continued in 2008 with the record high of ## orbital launches, exceeding its previous peak of ## orbital launches in 2007. These launches used China’s only operational vehicle family, the Long March (“Chang Zheng”, or CZ) series.
2008 – Orbital Launch Reports and Forecasts
From the launch of the Sputnik satellite on October 4, 1957, through the end of 2008, approximately ## orbital launches have occurred. These missions carried some ten thousand satellites, experiments, probes, landers, and other spacecraft on trajectories ranging from Earth orbit to missions beyond our solar system.
2008 – China Launch, Human
In 2003, China became the third nation to achieve orbital human spaceflight. The Long March 2F vehicle and its Shenzhou capsule are similar in design and function to the Soyuz rocket and capsule configuration. In October 2008, China launched Shenzhou 7, whose three-person crew performed the first Chinese extra vehicular activity, or spacewalk. In 2006, the Chinese government updated its China’s Space Activities white paper, which lists potential activities of follow-on Shenzhou missions. These include testing docking procedures, with the eventual objective of creating a space station.