Base 603
Encyclopedia
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Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences , formerly known as Academia Sinica, is the national academy for the natural sciences of the People's Republic of China. It is an institution of the State Council of China. It is headquartered in Beijing, with institutes all over the People's Republic of China...
located in Shijiedu (誓节渡), Shijie Town (誓节镇), Guangde County
Guangde County
Guangde County is a county in Anhui Province, People's Republic of China under the jurisdiction of Xuancheng City. The county has a population of 510,000 and an area of...
, Xuancheng Prefecture
Xuancheng
Xuancheng is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Anhui province of Eastern China. It borders Wuhu to the northwest, Chizhou to the west, Huangshan to the southwest, and the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu to the southeast and northeast respectively....
, Anhui province
Anhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
on the Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
east coast.
The location of the site was surrounded by mountains in four directions, with no roads and no access to resources, but chosen as an upgrade to the too limited facilities of Nanhui Launch Site.
History
The construction of the launch site was started in March 1960 under the direction of Department 581 (including the Second Geophysics Institute), and completed in less than six months, including a weather station, radars, control and tracking stations, launch pad, service tower, propellant storage room, propulsion testing facilities, living quarters, etc.The launch center was first directed by the Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences (地球物理所), then in June 1960 by the Shanghai Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (上海市机电设计研究院). Finally the Fifth Academy of the Ministry of National Defence (国防部第五研究院) took its control in 1963.
China launched its first ever successful T-7
T-7 (rocket)
T-7 is the name of China's first sounding rocket. The T-7 which was first launch on 13 September 1960 can carry a payload of 25 kg in a height of 58 kilometres. The T-7 has a length of 8 metres, a launch weight of 1138 kg and a diameter of 45 centimetres....
sounding rocket in September 1960.
From 1960 to 1966, several of the T-7
T-7 (rocket)
T-7 is the name of China's first sounding rocket. The T-7 which was first launch on 13 September 1960 can carry a payload of 25 kg in a height of 58 kilometres. The T-7 has a length of 8 metres, a launch weight of 1138 kg and a diameter of 45 centimetres....
and T-7A sounding rocket
Sounding rocket
A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, where to sound is to throw a weighted line from a ship into...
s were launched at the site.
The first successful flight of a biological experimental T-7A/S1 sounding rocket transporting eight white mice was launched and recovered on July 19, 1964.
The last launch was reportedly that of a dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
aboard a T-7A/S2 on 28 July 1966.
External links
- Shijiedu, Encyclopedia AstronauticaEncyclopedia AstronauticaThe Encyclopedia Astronautica is a reference web site on space travel. A comprehensive catalog of vehicles, technology, astronauts, and flights, it includes information from most countries that have had an active rocket research program, from Robert Goddard to the NASA Space shuttle to the Soviet...