Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

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Source: CCTV.com | 09-25-2008 16:44

The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center will welcome its 50th birthday this year. The center will celebrate its successful launch of 41 satellites and 1,000 rockets, and the Shenzhou spaceships, including two manned missions. Let's take a closer look at the center.

The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

The center is the only one capable of a manned spaceship launch in China.

Chief of the launch center Cui Jijun has spent 36 years working here, and he feels pride showing it off to visitors.

Cui Jijun, Chief Commander of Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, said, "In front of us is the place for assembling and testing various parts of the spaceship. The rocket was transported in an upright position... bundled together with the manned spacecraft, the escape tower and the Long March propelling rocket. A lot of work can be finished inside this. The most striking building at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is the Launch Tower, standing a hundred and five meters. The steel giant is referred to as the "umbilical tower". And this site is for launching satellites. It has a unique structure."
 
The Shenzhou spaceship and its components will move along this 15-hundred-meter-long rail, at a speed of 28 meters per minute. Accompanying engineers keep a close eye on wind-speed, just in case wind-velocity exceeds 10 meters per second. They were careful to make 2 stops, to check the state of the equipment.

Different from the launch of satellite, safety is the most important aspect for a manned spaceship lift-off.

On the ninth floor of the launch tower, there is an escape route in case of an accident.

And if an emergency happens too fast, they have another way to get to safety.

Cui Jijun, Chief Commander of Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, said, "This part of the rocket is called the escape tower. It's on the very top of the launch rocket that will carry the Shenzhou 7 spaceship into orbit. If something goes wrong during takeoff, the escape tower will lift the modules containing the astronauts away from the rocket, bringing the Shenzhou Seven crew to safety in the blink of an eye."

The center has a unique geological advantage, as 600 square kilometers around the area are scarcely inhabited. So the separation of the escape capsule won't cause any danger to residents.

The actual launch is the final step in the process, and it's far from simple. It includes the assembly of the rocket and the spaceship, the loading of propellant, as well as the comprehensive testing of all components. It also includes monitoring the weather, and ensuring all communication systems are working.

　Interactive:  Be part of China's journey to space!

Editor:Zhang Pengfei