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VIRTUALISATION China starts construction of new spaceport
VIRTUALISATION China starts construction of new spaceport | China starts construction of new spaceport |
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| by William Atkins | |
| Tuesday, 15 September 2009 | |
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Positioned near Wenchang City, the new launch center is located on the northeastern coast of the southern island province of Hainan. When completed the new launch site and mission control center will be the southernmost launch facility for the People’s Republic of China. China's fourth spaceport is only nineteen degrees north of the equator, which places it at a convenient spot to increase China's ability to launch heavier payloads into space. Specifically, the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center (WSLC) lies at 110.7 degrees east longitude and 19.6 degrees north latitude. Reports state that the Wenchang Center, due to its advantageous position, will be able to launch 14% heavier payloads than those payloads launched from its Jiuquan Launch Center, which is further north from the equator. The Chinese are hoping to begin launching its Long March-5 (LM-5) booster rocket from this new spaceport by 2014, about one year after the Wenchang Center becomes operational. Since 2003, the Chinese have launched three manned missions into space. One of these manned missions included the country's first spacewalk on September 27, 2008, with Chinese astronaut Zhai Zhigang exiting the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft for his extravehicular activity (EVA). Page two concludes. |
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