Dong Fang Hong I.

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Dong Fang Hong I.
Phase : E / Status : finished

Exhibit
Type: Broadcasting satellite
Country: China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China People's Republic of China
COSPAR designation : 1970-034A
Mission dates
Start date: 04/24/1970
Starting place: Jiuquan
Launcher: CZ-1
End date: 05/22/1970
Orbit data
Rotation time : 111.6 min
Apogee : 2384 km
Perigee : 439 km
Orbit inclination : 68.5 °

Dong Fang Hong I , also known as "China 1", was the first successful Chinese satellite to be launched on April 24, 1970 with a " Long March 1 " launcher. It was part of the so-called “ Dong Fang Hong ” satellite program, then called “Project 651” after it began in January 1965.

technology

At 173 kilograms, Dong Fang Hong I was relatively heavy compared to the first satellites from other nations. For comparison: Sputnik 1 weighed 83.6 kg, Explorer 1 weighed 8.3 kg, Astérix 42 kg and Ōsumi 12 kg. After the first preliminary discussions, on September 6, 1965 , the Chinese Academy of Sciences first indicated to the designers at the 8th engineering office of the Seventh Ministry of Mechanical Engineering that a 100 kg satellite would have to be put into orbit. At a meeting on October 25, 1965, however, Qian Ji (钱 骥, 1917-1983), who oversaw the satellite project together with Zhao Jiuzhang from the academy, suggested that in order to extend the service life of the satellite, the number of Nickel-cadmium batteries on board should increase, which of course resulted in a higher total weight - first 120 kg, then 173 kg.

The orbit height was 439 × 2384 kilometers, the orbit incline 68.5 °. On September 6, 1965, the academy had originally specified 42 ° for the orbit inclination, as this meant that the earth's rotation could be used to accelerate the rocket during take-off. However, as early as August 1965, Qian Xuesen , Deputy Head of the Seventh Ministry, had designed the "Three Satellite Plan" (三星 规划, Pinyin Sān Xīng Guīhuà ):

  1. Test and propaganda satellite
  2. Satellite returning to Earth
  3. Communications satellite in geostationary orbit

A camera for remote sensing purposes was to be built into the return satellites, later called “ pioneers ” . For example, in order to be able to photograph US military installations around the globe at higher latitudes - the country entered the Vietnam War in 1964 - a steeper incline was necessary. Wang Xiji , the chief engineer of the 8th engineering office, suggested at a meeting on April 1, 1966 that the original plan with 42 ° should be abandoned because, for example, the ground stations for tracing and control (the nucleus of today's deep space network of the People's Liberation Army ) could also be used for the return satellites. At a meeting from April 18 to 28, 1966, the Mechanics Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences finally decided to choose an inclination of 60–70 °. The additional advantage here was that the satellite flew over all major cities on this orbit and could therefore be seen and heard by everyone on the radio.

Political Aspects

The satellite had a station that permanently broadcast the hymn to Mao Zedong " The East is Red ". Because of the strong eccentricity of the orbit, the engineers at Research Institute 502 of the Chinese Academy for Space Technology had to make the speed of the player they constructed variable so that the Doppler effect did not impair the music quality. The satellite played the song for 28 days, then the batteries ran out. However, due to its shiny surface, Dong Fang Hong I could still be seen with the naked eye at certain times.

This successful satellite launch made the People's Republic of China the fifth power to launch its own satellite into orbit with its own rocket. In terms of propaganda, however, Beijing suffered a severe setback from the previous success that Japan had with the Ōsumi microsatellite on February 11, 1970. Due to the relatively high perigee , Dong Fang Hong I, together with Astérix, is the only one of the early satellites still orbiting the earth (as of April 2020).

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 研究所 发展 纪实. In: igg.cas.cn. September 26, 2007, Retrieved August 25, 2019 (Chinese). The video below shows the assembly and launch of the satellite from 1:50 p.m.
  2. ↑ a b 天才 琪 露 诺: 来自 太空 的 中国 之 声 —— “上 得 去”. In: zhuanlan.zhihu.com. April 22, 2020, accessed August 6, 2020 (Chinese).
  3. ↑ Mark Wade: FSW in the Encyclopedia Astronautica (English)
  4. ↑ 马京生 、 王建 蒙: 钱学森 与 孙家栋 ： 两位 “科学 巨星” 情深谊长. In: cas.cn. November 20, 2009, accessed August 8, 2020 (Chinese).
  5. ↑ 大事记. In: qianxslib.sjtu.edu.cn. Retrieved August 8, 2020 (Chinese).
  6. ↑ 东方 红 1 号 为何 能 在 轨 飞行 50 年 比 美苏 首颗 卫星 都 先进. In: spaceflightfans.cn. April 26, 2020, accessed April 26, 2020 (Chinese).
  7. ↑ 天才 琪 露 诺: 来自 太空 的 中国 之 声 —— 飞天 与 后记. In: zhuanlan.zhihu.com. April 24, 2020, accessed August 8, 2020 (Chinese). Contains sound recording of the song received on the radio.
  8. ↑ A1 (Asterix). N2YO, accessed April 26, 2020 .
  9. ↑ DFH-1. N2YO, accessed April 26, 2020 .