Dong Fang Hong 2 (also romanised as Dongfanghong 2) was the primary
television satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. C ...
used by
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
during the later part of the 20th century. It was developed at the
Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and had a design life 4.5 years. The first operational satellite in this group was launched into a
geosynchronous orbit
A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbita ...
on 8 April 1984.
Three satellites orbited in
geosynchronous orbit
A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbita ...
s at 87.5°, 110.5°, and 98.0° east. A fourth satellite failed to achieve a stable orbit due to a problem with the third stage.
Background
Operating under the name Dong Fang Hong 2, the Shiyong Tongbu Tongxing Weixing (STTW, , literally Operational Geostationary Communications Satellite) was the designation of a family of indigenous Chinese
communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth ...
s developed under the Project 331 initiative of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Being able to provide both civilian and military long distance telephony, in addition to satellite television, the initiative was promoted by the senior Chinese leadership, most notably
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...
and
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman M ...
,
as a means to improve the communications infrastructure of the country, especially in mountainous and hard to reach areas. Building on work that had been ongoing since the 1960s
Mao
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC ...
gave his assent to the project in April 1975.
The launch vehicle for the satellites was the
Long March 3
The Long March 3 (), also known as the Changzheng 3, CZ-3 and LM-3, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket design. They were all launched from Launch Area 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. It was a three-stage rocket, and was mostly used ...
with which it was developed in parallel and conjunction as part of Project 331.
In order to achieve a
geostationary orbit
A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitu ...
, in addition to the normal three stages of the Long March 3, the STTW required a small solid propellant kicker.
As part of the development program two
proof of technology demonstrators were launched (Shiyan Tongbu Tongxing Weixing, "Test Geostationary Communications Satellite").
The first of these launches in January 1984 was a failure when the second burn of the hydrogen fuelled
cryogenic
In physics, cryogenics is the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures.
The 13th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration (held in Washington DC in 1971) endorsed a universal definition of “cryogenics” and “cr ...
third stage engine, intended to boost the satellite from
low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never m ...
(LEO) into a
geostationary transfer orbit
A geosynchronous transfer orbit or geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is a type of geocentric orbit. Satellites that are destined for geosynchronous (GSO) or geostationary orbit (GEO) are (almost) always put into a GTO as an intermediate step ...
(GTO), failed.
However, despite being stranded in low Earth orbit, available telemetry indicated that the satellite itself was sound. The launch of the second test satellite was brought forward in April 1984, and this time both launch vehicle and satellite functioned as intended.
Providing 200 telephone lines, and fifteen radio and television channels,
the Shiyan Weixing demonstrated the utility of a communications satellite to link the developed coastal regions of Eastern China with the inhospitable and inaccessible regions of
Western China
Western China (, or rarely ) is the west of China. In the definition of the Chinese government, Western China covers one municipality ( Chongqing), six provinces (Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai), and three autonomou ...
.
Functioning until 1988, when it was parked in a
graveyard orbit, Shiyan Weixing paved the way for the operational Shiyong Weixings, which remained China's primary communications satellite until replaced by the
Dong Fang Hong 3.
Satellites
Satellite design
The satellite was cylindrical with a height of , a diameter of and weighed .
The ''Dongfanghong 2A'' satellite used a parabolic communications antenna mounted to the top of the satellite for broadcast purposes. The antenna could be rotated to keep it aligned with the Earth. Twenty-thousand
solar cell
A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon. s were mounted to the satellite to provide power. This was China's first successful use of
photovoltaic technology.
See also
*
Dong Fang Hong I
''Dong Fang Hong 1'' (), in the western world also known as China 1 or PRC 1, was the first space satellite of the People's Republic of China (PRC), launched successfully on 24 April 1970 as part of the PRC's Dongfanghong space satellite prog ...
*
Ren Xinmin Ren or REN may refer to:
Abbreviations
* Orenburg Tsentralny Airport, IATA code REN, civil airport in Russia
* Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), Portuguese company
* Renanthera, abbreviated as Ren, orchid genus
* Ringer equivalence number ( ...
, Chief Engineer of Project 331, a family of five programs to develop a communications satellite and launch vehicle and the technologies to enable and exploit their use
References
{{Reflist, 30em
External links
About Qi Faren, the chief designer of the satelliteAbout Peng Shoucheng "director designer of antenna, transponder and tracking subsystem of Dongfanghong-2A satellite"
Satellites of China
Communications satellites in geostationary orbit
Satellites orbiting Earth