The Yuan Wang-class of tracking ships () are used for tracking and support of

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...

and intercontinental ballistic missiles by the

People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force The People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (PLASSF; ) is the space, cyber, political, and electronic warfare force and the 5th branch of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

of the

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 ...

(PRC). It is important to note that the class is not a single class of identical design, but instead, a group of different designs grouped under the same series that share the same name. Detailed specifications for every ship have not been released by the PLASSF. ''Yuan Wang 1'' and ''Yuan Wang 2'' are thought to have a displacement tonnage of around 21,000 tons when fully loaded, with a crew of about 470 and a length of about . Their propulsion is from one Sulzer Ltd. diesel engine, with a top speed of 20 knots (37 km/h). The class was first proposed by Premier

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 Ma ...

in 1965, and the idea was personally approved by

Mao Zedong 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) ...

in 1968. The first two ships of the class, ''Yuan Wang 1'' and ''Yuan Wang 2'', were built at the

Jiangnan Shipyard Jiangnan Shipyard () is a historic shipyard in Shanghai, China. The shipyard has been state-owned since its founding in 1865 and is now operated as Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Co. Ltd. Before 2009, the company was south of central Shanghai at ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

and put to sea on 31 August 1977 and 1 September 1978 respectively. The general designer of this class is . For the first time, this gave the PRC the ability to track launches and satellites that were not over their territory. The first survey mission of the two ships was during May 1980. After being used for tracking of the launches of indigenously developed communications satellites, ''Yuan Wang 1'' and ''Yuan Wang 2'' underwent overhauls in 1986, so they could be used for supporting international satellite launches by the PRC. Two further ships of the class have been built. The first was ''Yuan Wang 3'', which was commissioned on 20 October 1995. The ''Yuan Wang 4'' tracking ship was constructed by

China State Shipbuilding Corporation The China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) is a Chinese shipbuilding conglomerate. Description CSSC is one of the top 10 defence groups in China. It consists of various shipyards, equipment manufacturers, research institutes and shipbu ...

and delivered to the China Satellite Launch and Tracking Control General on 18 July 1999. It had been converted from the previously used ''

Xiang Yang Hong Xiang Yang Hong () are a class of Chinese oceanographic survey and research ships. These were among China's first ocean survey vessels. Fleet list * Xiang Yang Hong 01 * Xiang Yang Hong 03 — built 2016 * Xiang Yang Hong 05 * Xiang Yang Hong ...

10'' scientific survey ship. Another two Yuan Wang-class vessels were launched in Shanghai in early 2007. Pictures of ''Yuan Wang 6'' were published, and both ''Yuan Wang 5'' and the newly commissioned ship were on duty for the

Shenzhou 7 Shenzhou 7 () was the third human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program. The mission, which included the first Chinese extra-vehicular activity (EVA) carried out by crew members Zhai Zhigang and Liu Boming, marked the commencement o ...

mission. During the

Shenzhou spacecraft Shenzhou (, ; see ) is a spacecraft developed and operated by China to support its crewed spaceflight program, China Manned Space Program. Its design resembles the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, but it is larger in size. The first launch was on 19 ...

flights, the four ships were positioned as follows: *''Yuan Wang 1'' in the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour ter ...

*''Yuan Wang 2'' about 1500 km (about 900 statute miles) southwest of French Polynesia *''Yuan Wang 3'' off the

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n coast *''Yuan Wang 4'' off the coast of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

Fleet list

* Yuan Wang 1 - 1977 * Yuan Wang 2 - 1978 * Yuan Wang 3 - 1995 * Yuan Wang 4 - 1999 * Yuan Wang 5 - 2007 * Yuan Wang 6 - 2007 * Yuan Wang 7 - 2016 * Yuan Wang 21 -

Long March 5 Long March 5 (LM-5; zh, s=长征五号 , p=Chángzhēng wǔ hào), or Changzheng 5 (CZ-5), and also by its nickname "''Pang-Wu''" (胖五, "''Fat-Five''"), is a Chinese heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehic ...

transport ship * Yuan Wang 22 -

transport ship

Type 718

Type 718

tracking ship A tracking ship, also called a missile range instrumentation ship or range ship, is a ship equipped with antennas and electronics to support the launching and tracking of missiles and rockets. Since many missile ranges launch over ocean areas for ...

is the very first design of Yuanwang series, and it consists of two ships, Yuan Wang 1 and Yuan Wang 2, both of which have since retired in the early 2010s. Type 718 can attain speeds of 20 kn.

Yuan Wang 3

Yuan Wang 3 is the second generation tracking ship of Yuan Wang series, and it can attain speeds up to 20 kt, with a range of 18,000 nautical miles and a cruising speed of 18 kt.

Yuan Wang 4

Yuan Wang 4 was converted from Type 643

research vessel A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

Xiangyanghong 10 (向阳红10), which was originally designed in February 1971, with construction begun in July 1975, and entered service in October 1979. Conversion was completed in August 1998, and the ship is capable of carrying a

Changhe Z-8 Changhe, officially Jiangxi Changhe Automobile Co Ltd, is a Chinese automobile manufacturer based in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China.Jiangyin Jiangyin (, Jiangyin dialect: ) is a county-level city on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, and is administered by Wuxi, Jiangsu province. Jiangyin is one of the most important transport hubs on the Yangtze River, it is also one of the most d ...

port at 5:10 AM on 5 August 2007, Yuan Wang 4 was hit by a coal carrier Harbor Sea 666 (Gang Hai 666, 港海 666), which caused a massive fire started at the point of collision at 4th fuel tank. The fire was put out after four hours without any casualties, but the equipment on board was severely damaged beyond repair. As a result, Yuan Wang 4 was subsequently converted to a target ship for DF-21 ballistic

antiship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A good nu ...

to simulate an aircraft carrier target as it entered Jiangyin Shipyard on 15 April 2010 for repair, and eventually destroyed in the latter half of 2010.

Yuan Wang 5

Yuan Wang 5 is the third generation tracking ship of Yuan Wang series, and entered service on 29 September 2007. Loaded with electronic tracking gear, the Yuan Wang 5 has been called a "spy ship". Built by Jiangnan Shipyard, Yuan Wang 5 has a displacement of 25,000 tones, and is designed to withstand winds up to Beaufort scale 12, and perform duties in

sea state In oceanography, sea state is the general condition of the free surface on a large body of water—with respect to wind waves and swell—at a certain location and moment. A sea state is characterized by statistics, including the wave height, ...

6. It has a carrying capacity of 11,000 tons DWT and its draught is reported to be 8.2 meters. Its length overall (LOA) is 222 meters and its width is 25.2 meters. Its home port is

Jiangyin Jiangyin (, Jiangyin dialect: ) is a county-level city on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, and is administered by Wuxi, Jiangsu province. Jiangyin is one of the most important transport hubs on the Yangtze River, it is also one of the most d ...

on the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

. The general designer of both Yuan Wang 5 and 6 was Mr. Huang Wei (黄蔚), the general engineer of the 708th Institute of

China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation The China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) was one of the two largest shipbuilding conglomerates in China, the other was the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). It was formed by the Government of the People's Republic of Chin ...

(CSIC).

Yuan Wang 6

Yuan Wang 6, like its sister ship Yuan Wang 5, is also a third generation tracking ship of Yuan Wang series. Designed by the 708th Research Institute, construction begun in April 2006, and the ship was launched on March 16, 2007. The ship entered service on April 12, 2008, and become fully operational in July 2008. Yuan Wang 6 utilizes fiber optic for its information system on board, and the electricity generated by the ship is enough to supply a city of 300,000. Specification: *Length (m): 222.2 *Width (m): 25.2 *Displacement (t): 24,966 *Accommodation: 400

Yuan Wang 7

Yuan Wang 7 was constructed by Jiangnan Shipbuilding, and is said to be able to operate for 100 days at sea. The China Satellite Maritime Tracking and Control Department has said the vessel will be used for maritime tracking of the

Shenzhou 11 Shenzhou 11 was a crewed spaceflight of the Shenzhou program of China, launched on 17 October 2016 (16 October UTC) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. It was China's sixth crewed space mission, at 33 days, it was the longest until the ...

manned space mission, and the Tiangong 2 space laboratory, using three large dish antennae some 10–12 meters in diameter. It was commissioned on 19 July 2016.China commissions space tracking ship as new station readied
SpaceDaily.com, 19 July 2016 * Length (m): 220 * Width (m): tbc * Height (m): 40m * Displacement (t): 25,000

Yuan Wang 21

The Yuan Wang 21 is a cargo ship designed by the 708th Research Institute specially to transport rockets such as the

; construction began on 1 April 2012, and it was launched on 29 November 2012. Yuan Wang 21 entered service on 6 May 2013. Specification: *Length (m): 130 *Width (m): 19 *Draft (m): 5.8 *Displacement (t): 9080

Yuan Wang 22

Yuan Wang 22 is also a cargo ship designed specially to transport rockets such as

, and it is also built by Jiangnan Shipyard, the same builder of earlier Yuan Wang 21. Yuan Wang 22 might be a sister ship of Yuan Wang 21, but this cannot be confirmed yet, because detailed information / specification of Yuan Wang 22 has not been released by official Chinese governmental sources yet (as of 2014). Yuan Wang 22 was launched on 24 January 2013. Yuan Wang 22
/ref>

References

External links

Global Security

SinoDefence.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuan Wang Class Tracking Ship Auxiliary ships of the People's Republic of China Maritime vessels related to spaceflight

Fleet list

Type 718

Yuan Wang 3

Yuan Wang 4

Yuan Wang 5

Yuan Wang 6

Yuan Wang 7

Yuan Wang 21

Yuan Wang 22

See also

French Navy

Indian Navy

Soviet Navy / Russian Navy

United States Navy

References

External links