China has just launched TJS-15, the latest in a classified satellite series, sparking global speculation. While officially labeled as a “communication technology experiment satellite,” many believe it could be designed for military surveillance, missile detection, or space intelligence. This is the 14th active TJS satellite, reinforcing China’s expanding presence in space.The launch comes as China accelerates its space program, with major upcoming missions like the Tianwen-2 asteroid sample return, Tiangong space station expansion, and new commercial rocket launches. What does TJS-15 mean for global security and the future of space?
The reporter learned from the University of Science and Technology of China on March 20 that Pan Jianwei, Peng Chengzhi, Liao Shengkai and other scientific research teams at home and abroad cooperated with a number of scientific research teams at home and abroad to realize real-time satellite-to-ground quantum key distribution between quantum micro-nano satellites and miniaturized and movable ground stations for the first time in the world, and realized up to 1 million bits of secure key sharing during a single satellite pass, and established a quantum key at a distance of more than 12,900 kilometers between China and South Africa, completing the encryption and transmission of image data "one at a time". It paves the way for the practical application of satellite quantum communication networking.
First picture looks like a mutant flatfish/flounder - where is SPCA International when you need them? But seriously, folks, is there any way to keep the nondemocratic Chinese (and while we're at it, also the Russians) out of outer space for good? Asking for a dear Western European friend...
Official graphics showing the planning of Tianwen 2 (May 2025, rendez vous with 2016HO3 in 2026, sample return in 2027, rdv with 311P in 2033), 3 (late 2028, return in mid 2031) and 4 (2029, arrival at jupiter in 2035, at Uranus in 2045)
The Jupiter half of the probe will eventually orbit Callisto and send penetrator probes that will impact the surface.
In the 2030s, NASA's Europa clipper will focus on Europa, ESA's Juice on Ganymede and Tianwen 4 on Callisto.
Earlier this month, CNSA sent calls for international experiment rideshare on Tianwen 3, up to 20kg of scientific payloads will be caried on both the Earth sample return orbiter and the interplanetary cruise stage of the lander-ascender. It is considered as a sign that the CNSA is confident in the mission and its launch date.
A presentation by the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (one of the main organisation working on the Tianwen program) of the main upcoming "flagship" planetary missions, the later ones haven't received approval yet.
-2030: project to build a laboratory modeling the habitability of the environment of other planets.
-2033: Venus atmospheric sample return, it was already outlined in a recent decadal survey; it may also be a consolidation of a couple previous chinese venus mission proposals, it is still unknown if it will only sample the upper atmosphere from low orbit or if it will reenter into the middle atmosphere, the goal of searching for microorganisms makes it seem like the later but the timeline would certainly be extremely ambitious.
-2038: This seems to be the mars equivalent of ILRS, similarly to it, the station is likely to be initially uncrewed.
-2039: A recent ambitious proposal for a Neptune-Triton orbiter with atmospheric balloon,
This isn't an exhaustive list of chinese deep space missions, the Chinese Academy of Science is working on the Solar Polar Orbit Observatory, a chinese equivalent to the old ESA-NASA Ulysses mission, while CNSA and the DSEL are working on an asteroid redirect mission comparable to NASA's DART planned for 2027
So we have some (advertise) spec for JZYJ upcoming FFSC methalox engine. This company is purely engine manufacturer, whose open cycle methalox engine the Longyun-70 is adopted by many of Chinese space start up and even used by state institution like SAST for their methalox reusable rocket hopper.
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