While the world is eagerly awaiting the next unmanned test flight of Shenzhou, the newspaper Liberation Daily reports that China would make a total of about ten launches this year.

On Jan. 18 the Shanghai-based newspaper quoted Yuan Jie, Director of Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST, formerly known as the Shanghai Bureau of Astronautics), as saying that the record number of launches would make 2002, the Year of the Horse, the busiest in history. However, Yuan did not disclose any launch manifest and provided little information on the details of the payloads.

The spacecraft that are planned to be launched this year include:

  • At least one, possibly two, unmanned test of Shenzhou (“Magic Vessel” or “Divine Vessel”); with the anticipated third mission SZ-3 in the very near future. SAST is a key member of China’s manned space project.
  • Fengyun-1D metsat (FY-1D, Fengyun means “Wind and Cloud”) launch aboard a Changzheng-4 (Long March-4) rocket in the first half of the year. The polar-orbiting sunsynchronous FY-1D will replace its sister craft FY-1C which has exceeded its designed life of two years even though the metsat continues to function nominally. SAST designs and produces both FY-1D and CZ-4.
  • Piggyback launch of the microsat Haiyang-1 (HY-1, Haiyang means “ocean”) remote sensing satellite with FY-1D. HY-1 will inaugurate a new series of satellites that will make observations of ocean colours and conditions, with an emphasis on areas near China. Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST) designs and builds the HY-1.

Both HY-1 and FY-1D was originally targeted to launch in May last year.

  • Intelsat APR-3 geostationary comsat launch on Changzheng-3B (CZ-3B) in Spring this year. APR-3 will occupy the orbital slot at 85 deg. E. longitude. The primary applications for the new satellite will include corporate Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) networks, video distribution to cable head-ends, and Internet connections to Internet service providers (ISPs).
  • Target launch of the first of the twin Double Star spacecraft aboard a CZ-2C rocket in December. Double Star is a joint project between China National Space Administration (CNSA) and European Space Agency (ESA). One of the two identical spacecraft will fly in an equatorial orbit while the other vehicle will be in a polar orbit. The twin spacecraft will study the effects of the Sun on the Earth’s environment.
  • China-Brazil Earth Remote Sensing-2 (CBERS-2) satellite launch. CBERS-2, also known as Ziyuan-1B (ZY-1B) in Chinese (Ziyuan means “resource”), will succeed ZY-1 which has been operating beyond its life expectancy of two years since last October. ZY-1B was targeted to launch late last year.
  • A unique retrievable satellite dedicated to exposing seeds to cosmic radiation. Chinese scientists claim that seeds that have been exposed to radiation in space would yield higher quality produce.