The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC) also known as ''Base 25'' (), is a

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...

and defense launch facility (

spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport'', and even more so ''cosmodrome'', has traditionally been used for sites capable ...

). It is situated in

Kelan County Kelan County () is a county in Xinzhou Prefecture, in the northwest of Shanxi Province, China. The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center is located in this county. Area: . Population: 80,000 Postal Code: 036300 Telephone Area Code: 0350 The county ...

Xinzhou Xinzhou, ancient name Xiurong (秀荣), is a prefecture-level city occupying the north-central section of Shanxi Province in the People's Republic of China, bordering Hebei to the east, Shaanxi to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the northwest ...

Shanxi Province Shanxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is ...

and is the second of four launch sites having been founded in March 1966 and coming into full operation in 1968. Taiyuan sits at an altitude of 1500 meters and its dry climate makes it an ideal launch site. The site is primarily used to launch meteorological satellites, Earth resource satellites and scientific satellites on

Long March The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Army of the Chinese ...

launch vehicles into

Sun-synchronous orbit A Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), also called a heliosynchronous orbit, is a nearly polar orbit around a planet, in which the satellite passes over any given point of the planet's surface at the same local mean solar time. More technically, it is ...

s. TSLC is also a major launch site for

intercontinental ballistic missile An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...

s and overland

submarine-launched ballistic missile A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhead ...

(SLBM) tests. The site has a sophisticated Technical Center and Mission Command and Control Center. It is served by two feeder railways that connect with the

Ningwu–Kelan railway Ningwu–Kelan railway or Ningke railway (), is a single track (rail), single-track regional railroad in Shanxi Province of North China, northern China between Ningwu and Kelan County, Kelan Counties. The line is long, and was built between 1967 ...

Launch pads

* Launch Site 7: CZ-1D, CZ-2C/SD,

CZ-4A The Long March 4A (), also known as the Changzheng 4A, CZ-4A and LM-4A, sometimes misidentified as the Long March 4 due to the lack of any such designated rocket, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket. It was launched from Launch Area 7 at the Taiy ...

CZ-4B The Long March 4B (), also known as the Chang Zheng 4B, CZ-4B and LM-4B is a Chinese expendable orbital Launch vehicle. Launched from Launch Complex 1 at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, it is a 3-stage launch vehicle, used mostly to place ...

and CZ-4C vehicles. * Launch Site 9:

CZ-2C The Long March 2C (LM-2C), also known as the Chang Zheng 2C (CZ-2C), is a Chinese orbital launch vehicle, part of the Long March 2 rocket family. Developed and manufactured by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), the Long Ma ...

CZ-2D The Long March 2D (), also known as the Chang Zheng 2D, CZ-2D and LM-2D, is a Chinese two-stage orbital carrier rocket mainly used for launching LEO and SSO satellites. It is manufactured by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology ...

and CZ-4C. First use on 25 October 2008. * Launch Site 16: CZ-6 and

Kuaizhou-1A Kuaizhou (KZ, , meaning "speedy vessel") (also called Feitian Emergency Satellite Launch System, Feitian-1, FT-1) is a family of Chinese "quick-reaction" orbital launch vehicles. Flying since 2013, Kuaizhou 1 and 1A consist of three solid-fueled ...

. * Launch Site 9A: CZ-6A.

Recent launches

Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center was to launch a satellite coded as the 03 Group of the

Shijian Shijian (, abbr. "SJ") is a series of satellites built and operated by the People's Republic of China. Some Shijian-series satellites have drawn significant concerns from the United States government and space observers who cite unannounced launc ...

-6 serial research satellites sometime on 24 October 2008. The rocket carrier was to be a Long March 4B, said the official, noting both the satellite and the rocket were in good condition and all the preparations for the launch had been completed.

References

{{Chinese launch complexes Buildings and structures in Shanxi Chinese space program facilities Spaceports in China

Launch pads

Recent launches

See also

References