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CHINA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 2002-10
CHINA
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
NEWSLETTER
The Ministry
of Science and Technology
People's Republic of
China
N0.290 March 30,2002
IN
THIS ISSUE
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* Chinas Unmanned Spacecraft
* China's Space
Station
* Improved Conditions for Returned Overseas
Chinese Students
* The World First Rice Genome Chart
* Precious Samples from Divine Boat III
*
Let Buildings Feel Temperature
* China's Medium
Speed Magnetic Suspension
Vehicle
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SPECIAL
ISSUES
Chinas Unmanned
Spacecraft
At 22:15, March 25, 2002, Divine
Boat III was sent into sky by Long March II-F carrier rocket
from Jiuquan Satellite Launching Center. The Chinese made
spacecraft was scheduled to make 108 round trips along the
earth in 7 days. During the flight, the spacecraft was
continuously tracked, measured and controlled by Beijing
based Space Control Center and the four spacecraft measuring
vessels over three oceans and other ground control stations
located in different places. The spacecraft performed a
hundred and more actions such as unfolding solar panel,
orbit movement, attitude determination, payload operation
and etc.. When moving into the fifth roundtrip circling the
earth, the onboard engines reserved for orbit changing
started its ignition as scheduled to place the spacecraft
into working orbit. On March 29 and 31, Beijing Space
Control Center successfully made two rounds of orbit
maintenance. At 16:54 April 1st, 2002, Divine Boat III made
its successful landing in the middle section of Inner
Mongolia, completing Chinas third space flight and
associated scientific and technical missions as prescribed.
It is reported that during the space flight,
the spacecraft had seen stable and smooth performance of its
different systems and payloads and collected large quantity
of precious data on spacecraft flying and scientific
experiments. It is briefed that the onboard pilot simulation
payload has shown normal physiological signals and metabolic
indicators, which confirms that the onboard cockpit
environment control and life supporting system extremely
important to manned space flight has fully satisfied medical
requirements for manned flight.
Scientists
opened the returned chamber on the recovering site and took
out cytobiology reactor and protein experiment unit before
its immediate shipment to Beijing in a chartered aircraft.
It is briefed that scientists will conduct
technical analysis and scientific studies of experimental
instruments and samples aboard the spacecraft.
The spacecrafts orbiter is now still
working in the space on series scientific and application
experiments such as multiple spectrum based remote sensing
observations and earth environment monitoring.
China's Space Station
The head
responsible for China's manned space project expressed
recently that China would soon send its astronauts into
space and set up its manned space station in the near
future.
He added that China's manned space
strategies were divided into three phases: at the early
stage of this century, China would on the basis of its
unmanned space flight experiments send its astronauts into
space; develop space docking link-up techniques and launch
its short-term manned space lab; and set up a long-term
manned space station to address large space scientific
experiments and application technologies. China's Divine
Boat III has proved its full satisfaction to the
requirements for manned space flight. As is shown by the
experimental flight, the pilot simulation payload in both
orbiter and return chamber may under the command of ground
control station simulate man's major physiological
activities such pulsing, heart beating, eating and
discharging. In addition, the carrier rocket has been
equipped with escaping flying and failure testing and
handling system to protect astronaut's life. As is revealed
by the analysis report, the technical conditions and
associated measuring and control system of Divine Boat III
are fully in line with that designed for manned spacecraft
flying and both of its security and reliability have
witnessed great improvement. The successful launch of Divine
Boat series has demonstrated breakthroughs in China's
development of different application systems for its manned
space flight project and a raised level for its manned space
flying technology and system engineering management mode.
He said thanks to their many-year efforts,
Chinese scientists and engineers have overcome many key
technologies related to manned space project, successfully
developed advanced carrier rocket and spacecraft,
established spacecraft system integrated with domestically
sophisticated and cutting edge technologies, completed the
construction of modern manned spacecraft launching pad,
measuring and control network and spacecraft landing ground,
and organized systematic training of Chinese astronauts.
Improved Conditions for Returned Overseas
Chinese Students
Chinese authorities
responsible for personnel affairs have expressed recently
that after its accession to WTO, China will be
involved in economic globalization in a wider scope and to
some deeper extent. As a result, China will enter a new
development phase for its opening efforts, which will bring
up more opportunities for overseas Chinese students to
establish their own business in their homeland.
It is briefed that recent years have witnessed
Chinese authorities responsible for personnel affairs making
great efforts to improve the working conditions for returned
overseas Chinese students under the principle of
"support studying abroad, encourage to return after
studying and be free for coming and going" and
encouraging overseas Chinese students to render their serve
for their homeland.
China has published a
series of preferential treatment policies encouraging high
caliber overseas Chinese students to return and work for the
prosperity of their own country. These policies have
made special provisions on their concerned
questions such as salaries, working conditions, housing and
transportation, spouse employment, children's schooling and
entering and leaving the country.
To create
better working environment for returned Chinese students, 20
and odd working stations and 60 and more pioneering parks
have been established in recent years to allow returned
Chinese students to establish their businesses and spin off
their research results.
In addition, Chinese
government has provided financial support for pioneering
activities of returned Chinese students. Since 1985, Chinese
Ministry of Personnel has allocated RMB 200
million on a cumulative basis to support research activities
of 4,000 and more returned Chinese students and 30,000 and
more Chinese students coming home on a short term basis.
To make Chinese overseas students
well connected, China has opened up a dedicated website for
sharing information with Chinese overseas students and
organized online S and T personnel recruitment together with
local authorities such as Guangzhou, Liaonin and Shandong,
created information platform for Chinese overseas students
knowing the development of their homeland and recruitment
opportunities.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
The World First Rice Genome Chart
Chinese Academy of Sciences and the U.S. based
Science jointly announced on April 4, 2002 that Chinese
scientists have not only independently worked out rice
genome sequencing chart but also successfully
"interpret" the chart. The said development has
made people able to genetically understand rice, a grain
crop supporting the survival of half population on the
earth. In addition, to their great surprise, scientists have
discovered that the total number of rice genes is ranging
between 46,022 and 55,615, almost twice that of human
genome.
On April 5, 2002, Science published a
cover story running 14 pages on Chinese rice genome
sequencing working chart, introducing this major scientific
endeavor accomplished independently by Chinese scientists.
The working chart with 460 million genes constitutes the
largest of its kind after the completion of human genome
chart as well as the largest plant genome chart.
Chinese scientists announced its plan for
working on super hybrid rice genome in May 2000. Unlike
several other international rice genome projects, the
sequencing material in Chinese scientists' lab is the super
hybrid rice bred by Yuan Longping, the father of hybrid
rice. The rice genome working chart worked out by Chinese
scientists has basically covered the whole rice genome and
92% of rice genes. It is briefed that Chinese scientists
have worked so hard that their workload became equivalent to
a repeated sequencing of the same genome for ten times.
Precious Samples from Divine Boat III
The successfully returned chamber of Divine
Boat III has revealed smooth performance of all its
instruments aboard for scientific experiments and payload
samples of important values for space science studies and
application techniques. The preliminary analysis of these
samples has shown that China has achieved important
progresses in the fields of space life and materials.
It is briefed that the onboard scientific
research activities include space based crystal growth
experiment for proteins and other large molecules and
biological cell growing experiment. The protein growing
experiment employed Chinese made second generation protein
crystal maker designed with two different protein crystal
growing approaches and double temperature control system.
Most of the 16 proteins selected for the experiment are
derived from China's own biological resources. Scientists
have obtained protein crystals of complete structures grown
under microgravity environment, which is important for
studying the relationship between protein structures and
their special functions and is of the same importance to
deriving and manufacturing biological products of high
purity and effect as well as to biomedical products design.
In the field of biological cell growing, the
scientists of Chinese Academy of Sciences have studied space
based growing approaches for animal and plant cells that are
of medicinal values and microgravity impacts on cell growth,
reproduction and metabolism and biological activity
secretion. It is reported that two of four payload cell
samples may produce antitrichosanthis protein and antigen
against chlamydia based sexual diseases.
In
addition, Chinese experts have conducted explorative studies
of space based growth of a number of other materials and
associated preparations and techniques.
For
examples, gallium antimonide crystal for making microwave
elements, microwave integrated circuits and super high speed
integrated circuits; tellurium-zinc-cadmium crystal for
making base materials needed by infrared sounding equipment;
bismuth silicate, an oxide crystal for making optic
information storage materials and other new alloy materials
of important application perspectives in the field of space
and aviation. Studies on these materials will help
scientists improve their understanding of the physical
properties of material preparation and provide guidance for
the improvement of ground materials manufacturing
techniques, which are of great potential economic values.
Relevant research institutes under the Chinese Academy of
Sciences are at present working on in-depth analysis and
studies of the returned samples.
Now Divine
Boat III remains working in the orbit. The onboard China's
first medium resolution imaging spectrograph will conduct
extensive multiple spectrum remote sensing experiments on
oceans, land and atmosphere. In addition, instruments such
as solar ultraviolet spectrograph, solar constants monitor,
earth radiation budget instrument will carry out other
environment monitoring and space environments and high-level
atmosphere based watch. It is briefed that all these
instruments will work on in-the-orbit experiments and
application studies in a scheduled six- month flight.
China's New Fanjet Turbine
No. 2
China Space Industrial Group has recently passed the
approval check of its designed fanjet turbine, which implies
a pass issued for its applications in Chinese military
aircraft.
It is reported that the said new
turbine is designed with a reliable structure for stable
performance and its major technical performance has
basically reached military technical indicators and
application requirements. Designed in line with
required standards, the turbine has been approved for its
specifications.
It is briefed that the said
fanjet turbine developed by China has put itself in line
with the development trend of its international counterparts
in terms of both design and techniques. When going into
massive production, it may save huge foreign exchanges in
procuring similar device from abroad and provide advanced
aircraft engines that are urgently needed by Chinese
military forces to strengthen national defense capability.
Let Buildings Feel Temperature
Scientists of Guangzhou Energy Institute under
the Chinese Academy of Sciences have recently developed high
temperature geothermal pumping system and found its
application in a building of more than 10,000 square meters.
Under the support of the Chinese Ministry of
Science and Technology and on the basis of their many-year
painstaking studies, Guangzhou Energy Institute have
eventually turned out a high temperature geothermal pumping
system able to flow out the water as hot as 75 ℃,
which is fully desirable for direct heating applications or
the water of 60 ℃ for daily applications with the help
of thermal transformer. The said system has been working
smoothly for Foreign Experts Building of Chinese Academy of
Sciences for two months. It is reported that to allow
self-adjusted temperature, the building was in the past
equipped with three different systems respectively for
heating supply from heating network, cooling from central
air conditioner and daily hot water from oil burning boiler,
which had not only consumed large investment but also
occupied large area with high running costs and pollution
exhausted by oil burning. Now the new geothermal
pumping system has replaced the three old systems with its
electricity saving reaching as high as 70% and heating costs
being cut by half.
NEWS BRIEFS
Accelerated Digital TV Development
As is disclosed recently by the State
Development Planning Committee, China will soon embark on
research and development of digital TV systems of advanced
technical level and prosperous market potentials and
associated industrial projects. In addition China will
accelerate standards formulation process for cable and
ground digital TV systems, carrying out digital TV
experiments and trial broadcasting with its own proprietary
technologies, equipment and systems as much as possible, and
shooting digital TV programs so as to get fully prepared for
diving into domestic digital TV market. Priorities will be
given to the development of digital TV components, key
products and dedicated software with more support for major
innovative digital TV projects so that a proprietary digital
TV manufacturing system of industrial strength will be
developed.
It is briefed that in 2002
priorities will rest on the development of digital TV
terminal products and key components and associated
industrialization, digital TV signal transmission equipment
and associated industrialization and digital TV application
supporting system and associated industrialization. The
State Development Planning Committee will accept
applications for these projects and work out its preliminary
judgement of the applications at the end of April, 2002.
China's Medium Speed Magnetic Suspension
Vehicle
By April 6, 2002, China's first medium
speed magnetic suspension locomotive has been smoothly
running for 2000 km. Developed by China National Defense
S&T University, the said suspension locomotive has
demonstrated fine technical performance up to the level for
practical operation. Running over an experimental rail line
with a total length of 204 meters including a turning
section running for 100 meters at a slope of 40 and
rail width of 2 meters, the suspension locomotive weighs of
20 tons with its head compartment as long as 15 meters and 3
meters in width, capable of housing 130 and more passengers
and a running speed at 150 km an hour.
The
successful construction and operation of this proprietary
medium speed magnetic suspension locomotive makes China
among the internationally advanced in terms of its
suspension locomotive manufacturing techniques and
engineering level, and become one of the few countries in
the world capable of manufacturing and development of
magnetic suspension locomotives and operational lines.
China Solved Derail Puzzle
Train derail puzzle, a headache that has
troubled railway transportation business for a century and
more has recently been solved by Prof. Zeng Qingyuan, an
academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering working
for Zhongnan University.
Prof. Zeng started to
attack this railway transportation cancer from 1972. He and
his aides have developed brand new train derail theory on
the basis of their computer based mathematical model
analysis and practical measuring. The said theory is not
only able to interpret many complicated derail causes beyond
explanations in the past train derail events, but also able
to make accurate prediction for possible derail signs for
taking timely preventive measures with its reliability
reaching as high as 99%.
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