National subsidies in the international commercial launch market

The agreement by the USA and Cocom to allow the export of US-built satellites for launch on Chinese launchers raised the national subsidy issue. The international commercial launch market is multinational and highly competitive; launch suppliers have accused each other of being unfairly subsdized. Currently the US government is engaged in various negotiations to establish a ‘level playing field’. A clear study of the subsidy issue is essential. This article examines some of the charges and the current situation associated with each country and suggests a possible approach for the USA to remain competitive in the international commercial launch market.     

Asia in space: The awakening of China and Japan

The increasingly important role of China and Japan in international space activities can be seen as a threat to the two great space-exporting powers, the USA and Europe. China is already a competitor on the satellite launch market, and will soon be able to market satellites which are simpler and cheaper than those offered by Western industry. Japan is making steady progress towards autonomy in all fields of space technology. This article details the space experience of China and Japan. They are following different paths but both will have a strong presence in the cosmos by the year 2000.     

LM-11——The Main Force in China's Small Launch Vehicles for Commercial Launch

The Long March 11 launch vehicle(LM-11) is the only solid launch vehicle within China's new-generation launch vehicle series, enabling a full spectrum of Chinese launch vehicles. Compared with other China's LM series launch vehicles, it has the shortest launch preparation time. With the characteristics of appropriate launch capability, quick response, easy-to-use, flexible operation, universal interface and strong task adaptability, LM-11 can better meet the launch requirements for various small networking satellite, replacement and for emergency use. After four successful launches, LM-11 has become the main Chinese launch vehicle oriented to the international small satellite commercial launch market.     

长征三号甲系列运载火箭高适应性发展——从总体与导航制导控制的视角

从总体与导航制导控制的视角,对长征三号甲系列运载火箭发展与成就进行了分析和小结。长征三号甲系列运载火箭,在长征三号运载火箭解决我国发射高轨道卫星有无问题的基础上,历经基本能力、适应能力、高适应能力的发展,具备了高轨道大型卫星运载能力,突破了从单一轨道面到三维空间各种轨道发射、从高轨卫星转移轨道到工作轨道发射、从地球轨道到地月轨道发射以及从航天技术试验到高可靠工程应用发射等关键技术,使我国运载火箭整体能力取得了地球全轨道发射、星际轨道发射等跨越发展。航天重大工程和国际商业发射表明,该系列运载火箭已进入世界高轨道航天器发射的运载火箭前列,并奠定了进一步开拓发展的基础。     

商业航天背景下卫星星座运营思考（英文）

With the advances of small satellite technology in commercial space sector, using small satellite networks to form a satellite constellation and conduct commercial operational services has entered into a vigorous phase of development. As small satellite technology develops, problems in the operations of small satellite constellations are also gradually emerging. These include ground measurement and operational control systems for small satellite constellations, the commercial operational mode, support and the guarantee of laws and regulations related to small satellites. This report discusses the development of commercial space small satellite operation industrialization, explores the small satellite operational modes and technological innovation, proposes the commercial space industry chain to build the industry ecology. At the same time, it looks forward to the integration of space and terrestrial communication. It also calls on relevant organizations of China to speed up the process of space legislation, formulate the relevant policies to encourage the operations of small satellites in commercial space sector, and push China's commercial space to a new level.     

美国调整军事航天器的发展策略

美国对军事航天器的依赖性不断增强,也面临着航天器越来越长的研制周期和越来越高的研制成本,因此,改变军事航天器的发展策略成为当务之急。美国为提升战场实战能力正在进行发展思路的战略性调整,主要包括:拓展搭载军事有效载荷的途径;推进将大型卫星有效载荷拆分成小卫星的模式;开发分布式军事太空系统结构;对运载资源挖潜;优化商业模式实现业务拓展。对已有卫星的后续系统,进行规模改造与能力提升途径的调整,主要包括:对于军事通信卫星,扩大宽带或"超高频"(SHF)系统,突出窄带或"特高频"(UHF)系统及"先进极高频"(AEHF)系统;分步升级GPS的地面部分,将GPS-3提升为国家关键基础设施;确保导弹预警卫星系统重点。在开发新系统时,美国注重提高效能和降低成本,发展有效的支持能力和低成本小卫星系统,提高低成本机动发射和快速进入太空的能力,并以轨道资源利用为目的开拓新途径。     

敏捷遥感卫星工作模式研究

综述了国外商业遥感卫星发展情况,归纳总结了高分辨率商业卫星的主要技术指标和特点。在充分调研国外敏捷遥感卫星的基础上,从成像目标需求、分辨率与幅宽关系、立体成像三方面总结出此类卫星的技术特点,阐述了发展敏捷遥感卫星的重要意义和作用,并深入分析了实现姿态敏捷控制的技术途径。利用姿态的敏捷控制能力,研究提出了多点目标成像、立体成像、宽幅拼接成像、动态扫描成像等4种典型工作模式,完成了敏捷卫星主要工作模式的分析与设计,并基于此工作模式要求,提出了敏捷卫星工程实现的技术途径。     

The commercial development of space: is an international regulatory framework needed?

The commercial space sector to date has failed to develop comprehensive regulations--"rules of the road"--for its international activities. Within the next 5 years, conflicts with respect to international trade in satellite sales and launch services could emerge, highlighting the need for such a regulatory framework. If the commercial space sector is to continue to develop, it is important to begin discussions now, before these conflicts become significant, on the elements of an appropriate international regulatory framework. The existing framework for space activities was developed when government, not commercial, space activities were dominant, or was adapted from regulations in other sectors such as terrestrial telecommunications.     

捷龙一号首飞（英文）

The Smart Dragon 1(SD-1) launch vehicle is the first commercial rocket developed by China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology(CALT), targeting to the international launch market for small satellites. As the smallest launch vehicle in China at present, SD-1 is one of the most efficient solid boost rockets nationwide in terms of launch capacity. Compared with current domestic rockets, it provides remarkable access to space with a faster response, higher orbit-injection accuracy and better payload accommodation at a lower cost. On August 17, 2019, SD-1 completed its maiden flight and delivered three satellites into the desired Sun Synchronous Orbit(SSO) of 550 km accurately. In this article, a technical review of SD-1 is presented detailing the design concept and the use of state of the art technology throughout its development.     

Whose jurisdiction over the US commercial satellite industry? Factors affecting international security and competition

Within a global economy, export controls play a large role in hindering the proliferation of high technology. A company operating in a country that operates under more strict export controls than others is at a serious disadvantage in competing. This has been the case for commercial satellite (comsat) manufacturers in the USA since 1999, when Congress redefined comsats and all technologies associated with them from a dual-use export under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce to a munitions export that falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of State. Following this, there was a drastic drop in the market share of US comsat manufacturers in comparison to European manufacturers, who continued to define satellites as a dual-use technology. This paper examines the various factors that have affected US industry competitiveness and tackles the question of whether or not it continues to make sense to keep comsats under the more restrictive International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) controls. To accomplish this, comsats are subjected to a litmus test created by George Zaphiriou in 1992 to determine whether a technology should be placed under ITAR controls.     

The USSR's prudent space policy

Soviet space policy has long been viewed in the West as militaristic and aimed at achieving superiority, a situation which is abetted by the secrecy in which Soviet space activities are shrouded. This article argues, however, that Soviet space policy is essentially prudent and conservative, and based on exploiting existing technology to the maximum. Whilst it has provided the USSR with an impressive space potential, it does not mean that the USSR is ahead of the USA in space. Nevertheless, in the future the USSR is likely to undertake more international cooperation and offer commercial launch services.     

资源卫星光学遥感器发展近况

以美国、法国、印度和日本为例 ,文章介绍了 2 0 0 0年以后各国已发射的及计划发射的资源卫星及其光学遥感器     

LM-11SL:A Sea-Launched Carrier Rocket for Small Satellites and Its Launch Service

Following the successful maiden flight of the Long March 11(LM-11) launch vehicle from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in September 2015, the first sea-launched carrier rocket dedicated to provide a launch service for small satellites and their constellations, the Long March 11 Sea Launch(LM-11 SL) has been under development by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology(CALT) and the China Great Wall Industry Corporation(CGWIC). It is planned to commence launch service in 2018. Based on the LM-11, a land-launched four-staged solid launch vehicle which has entered the market and accomplished launch missions for several small satellites in the past 3 years, the newly adopted sea launch technology enables transport and launch of LM-11 SL from maritime ships, providing flexible launch location selection.After inheriting the mature launch vehicle technologies from previous members of the Long March launch vehicle family and adopting a new way of launching from the sea, the LM-11 SL is capable of sending payloads into low Earth orbits with all altitudes and inclinations, from 200 km to 1000 km, from equatorial to sun synchronous, within a shortduration launch campaign. The LM-11 SL provides a flexible, reliable and economical launch service for the global small satellite industry.     

The development of a Russian communication satellite of small class, operating in the geostationary and high-elliptical orbits

In 1994–1995 Lavochkin Association (Russia) together with the other enterprises in accordance with technical requirements of the Russian Space agency, developed a new Russian communication satellite of a small class that will operate in both the geostationary (GSO) and high-elliptical (HEO) orbits. This satellite may be injected into operational orbits using a SOYUZ-2 launch vehicle (LV) and a FREGAT upper stage (US) from Plesetsk and Baykonur space launch sites (SLS).The main reason for creating such a satellite was to decrease the cost of the support and development of the Russian communication geostationary satellites group.Russian satellites Horizont, Express, Ekran and Gals, which operate in GSO, are the basis of the space segment for communications, radio and TV broadcasting. All of these satellites are injected into GSO by the PROTON LV. PROTON is a launch vehicle of a heavy class. The use of a middle class LV instead of a heavy class will allow to reduce considerably the launch cost. The change of a heavy class LV to a LV of middle class determined one economic reason for this project. Besides, the opportunity to launch S/C into GSO from Russian Plesetsk SLS increases the independence of Russia in the domain of space communications, despite the presence of the contract with Kazachstan about the rent of Baykonur SLS. Finally, use of small satellites with a rather small number of transponders is more effective than the use of big satellites. It will allow also to increase a satellite group (by the launch of additional satellites) precisely in accordance to the development of the ground segment.     

Observations on the evolution of satellite launch volume and cyclicality in the space industry

Satellites have been rightly described as the lifeblood of the entire space industry and the number of satellites ordered or launched per year is an important defining metric of the industry's level of activity, such that trends and variability in this volume have significant strategic impact on the space industry. Over the past 40+ years, hundreds of satellites have been launched every year. Thus an important dataset is available for time series analysis and identification of trends and cycles in the various markets of the space industry. This article reports findings of a study for which we collected data on over 6000 satellites launched since 1960 on a yearly basis. We grouped the satellites into three broad categories – defense and intelligence, science, and commercial satellites – and identified and discussed the main trends and cyclical patterns for each of these. Institutional customers (defense and intelligence, and science) accounted for over two-thirds of all satellites launched within our time period (1960–2008), and, in the 1960s and 1970s, they accounted for 90% and 73.5%, respectively. A fair conclusion from this data is that the space industry was enabled by, and grew because of the institutional customers, not commercial market forces. However, when the launch data is examined more closely, a growing influence of the commercial sector is noticeable. Over the past two decades communication satellites accounted for roughly half of all launches, thus reflecting an important shift in the space industry in which the commercial sector is playing an equal role (on a launch volume basis) to that of the institutional market. Cyclical patterns in the satellite launch volume over the past decade are separately discussed before we sum up with a conclusion.     

North Korea''s first satellite: fact and fiction

On 4 September 1998 North Korea announced that it had launched its first satellite on 31 August. Whilst the North Koreans maintained that they had a satellite in orbit, nothing was tracked in the West. This paper presents a review of what the North Koreans announced concerning the satellite launch and the various statements and claims which were made by both the Russians and the USA before the question of the launch being successful or unsuccessful was finally resolved.     

The Israeli satellite launch: Capabilities, intentions and implications

The launch of the Israeli satellite Ofeq-1 during September 1988 has significant regional and global implications. These include the proliferation of both surveillance satellites and ballistic missiles, the latter having the potential to deliver conventional, chemical and nuclear warheads to areas situated many hundreds of miles away. This paper addresses both the origins of the Israeli booster technology and the many implications of the satellite launch. It then speculates on their political and arms control consequences. It concludes that in light of the parallelism that has evolved between nuclear and chemical weapons and ballistic missiles, there is an increasing need to develop global and, if appropriate, regional and bilateral strategies to limit missile proliferation and bring the issue to the forefront of international political debate.     

The challenges facing Galileo

Study of the nascent European satellite navigation system, Galileo, is well underway and a decision by the EU Council of Ministers on whether to proceed with the test satellites is expected by late 2000. Although some believe that current systems, most notably the US GPS, make it unnecessary, the history of satellite navigation so far provides some justification for a European system. Nevertheless, Galileo faces a number of challenges if it is to succeed. These include not only the technical specifications for a new generation of navigation satellites and the ground structure, but also a coherent business plan for funding the launch, operation and maintenance of the system. Lastly, one has to consider the compatibility and interoperability of Galileo with the existing GPS and Glonass satellite systems, as well as the likely competition from GSM and (third generation) UMTS mobile services.     

Maiden Flight of Long March 7——The New Generation Medium Launch Vehicle in China

On June 25, 2016, the Long March 7(LM-7) launch vehicle completed its maiden flight successfully. LM-7, as a new generation of medium and basic launch vehicle based on the design concepts of non-toxic and nonpolluting, was developed for the purpose of launching a cargo spacecraft to the Chinese space station. Based on the experience on launching cargo spacecraft and satellites, LM-7 can be adapted for mainstream satellite launch missions in the future with its characteristics of serialization and continuous optimization. LM-7 is expected to be used to launch manned spacecraft in the future. This paper presents a general review of LM-7 with regard to the general scheme and provides references for the development prospects of a medium launch vehicle series in China.