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 List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

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 consi ...

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, Xinzhou,

Shanxi Province Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level ...

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 weapo ...

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.

Launch pads

* Launch Site 7: CZ-1D, CZ-2C/SD, CZ-4A, CZ-4B and CZ-4C vehicles. * Launch Site 9: CZ-2C, CZ-2D, CZ-4B and CZ-4C. First use on 25 October 2008. * Launch Site 16: CZ-6 and Kuaizhou-1A. * Launch Site 9A: CZ-6A.

Recent launches

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