Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

History

Founded in 1958, JSLC is the oldest of China’s four spaceports. Like most Chinese launch facilities, it is located in a remote area and is generally closed to foreign visitors.

The launch center is part of Dongfeng Space City (东风航天城), also known as Base 10 (十号基地) or the Dongfeng base (东风基地). The broader Dongfeng site includes test-flight facilities for the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), a space museum, and a martyrs’ cemetery (东风烈士陵园).

JSLC is used for launching spacecraft into low- and medium-Earth orbits with high inclination, as well as for testing medium- and long-range missiles. Its facilities include the technical center, launch complexes, launch control center, mission command center, and associated logistical systems.

The center covers about 2,800 km² and reportedly houses up to 20,000 personnel. Many of its systems and equipment were likely modelled on Soviet designs, and the Soviet Union probably provided early technical assistance.

JSLC was expanded during China’s Third Front campaign to develop defense-related industry in inland regions in anticipation of potential conflict with the Soviet Union or the United States.

The site has supported many major Chinese space milestones, including the launch of China’s first satellite Dong Fang Hong I in 1970, and the first crewed space mission Shenzhou 5 in 2003. As of 2021, all Chinese crewed launches—including missions to the Tiangong space station—have originated from Jiuquan.

In August 2016, China launched the first quantum-communication satellite, Quantum Experiments at Space Scale, from JSLC.

In August 2018, Chinese commercial rocket companies i-Space and OneSpace conducted sub-orbital launches from the center. On 25 July 2019, I-Space carried out the first successful Chinese private orbital launch from Jiuquan using the Hyperbola-1 rocket.

Launch pads

The launch site includes two launch complexes, each with multiple pads.

North Launch Complex

The North Launch Complex contains two inactive launch areas.

• Launch Area 2: used for orbital launches and ballistic-missile tests.

  • LA-2A: used for DF-3 and DF-5 ballistic-missile launches and for the earliest Chinese orbital missions using the CZ-1 (last orbital launch in 1971). ()
  • LA-2B: used for CZ-2A, CZ-2C, CZ-2D, and FB-1 launches (last used in 1996). ()

• Launch Area 3: located about 2.7 km south of LA-2, used for DF-1, DF-2, and R-2 missile launches.

  • North pad ()
  • South pad ()

South Launch Complex

The South Launch Complex is active and supports launches of CASC's Long March vehicles as well as commercial rockets.

• Launch Area 4: about 37.9 km south of LA-3.

  • SLS-1 (LS-43/91): active since 1999, used for crew-rated Long March 2F missions and served by a nearby Vertical Assembly Facility. ()
  • SLS-2 (LS-43/94): active since 2003, used for Long March 2C, Long March 2D, Long March 4B, and Long March 4C launches. ()

• Commercial launch pads (various locations south and east of LA-4):

  • LS-95: two pads used for Long March 11, Kuaizhou, Jielong 1, OS-M1, Hyperbola-1, and Ceres-1 launches.
    • Pad A ()
    • Pad B ()
  • LS-96: operated by LandSpace for the Zhuque-2 launcher. ()
  • LS-120: operated by Space Pioneer for the Tianlong-2 launcher. ()
  • LS-130: operated by CAS Space for the Kinetica 1 launcher. ()

Image gallery

File:KH7 ShuanchengtzuMissileCenterA19670529.png|KH-7 satellite image of the facility in 1967. File:Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center warning board.jpg|A warning board at the gate. File:Jiuquan VAB.png|Launch Vehicle Vertical Assembly Building. File:Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center with sign.jpg|Tower 1 and 2 behind a sign. File:Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center tower.jpg|Launch tower. File:Long March 2D launching off pad with VRSS-1.jpg|Launch of Long March 2D (VRSS-1 / Miranda). File:Jiuquan Launch Center Vertical Assembly Building.png|Roll out of Long March 2F (Shenzhou 12). File:Shenzhou 12 launch (cropped).jpg|Launch of Long March 2F (Shenzhou 12).

References

References

1. "Jiuquan Space Launch Center – Facilities – NTI".
2. "张志芬少将任酒泉卫星发射中心主任-搜狐新闻".
3. The precise administrative division is disputed.
4. "This Military Base Is Where China Blasts Humans into Space". Bloomberg.com.
5. (5 December 2007). "航天科技游圣地——东风航天城 (Dongfeng Space City)". 新华网内蒙古频道.
6. Meyskens, Covell F.. (2020). "Mao's Third Front: The Militarization of Cold War China". [[Cambridge University Press]].
7. Meyskens, Covell F.. (2020). "Mao's Third Front: The Militarization of Cold War China". Cambridge University Press.
8. (16 August 2016). "China Launches Pioneering 'Hack-Proof' Quantum-Communications Satellite".
9. Jones, Andrew. (7 September 2018). "Chinese startups OneSpace, iSpace succeed with suborbital launches".