Yuanwang
Encyclopedia
The Yuanwang-class (远望; meaning "Long View") are used for tracking and support of satellite
and intercontinental ballistic missile
s by the People's Liberation Army Navy
(PLAN) of the People's Republic of China
(PRC).
The detailed specifications of the ships are not released by the PLAN. They are thought to have a displacement tonnage
of around 21,000 tons
when fully loaded, with a crew of about 470 and a length of about 190 meters (620 ft). Their propulsion is from one Sulzer Ltd. diesel engine, with a top speed of 20 knots (37 km/h).
The class was first proposed by Premier
Zhou Enlai
in 1965, and the idea was personally approved by Mao Zedong
in 1968. The first two ships of the class, Yuanwang 1 and Yuanwang 2 were built at the Jiangnan Shipyard
in Shanghai
and put to sea on 31 August 1977 and 1 September 1978 respectively. The general designer of this class is Mr. Xu Xueyan (许学彦, 1924- ). For the first time, this gave the PRC the ability to track launches and satellites that were not over their territory.
The first survey mission of the two ships was during May 1980. After being used for tracking of the launches of indigenously developed communications satellites, Yuanwang 1 and Yuanwang 2 underwent overhauls in 1986, so they could be used for supporting international satellite launches by the PRC.
Two further ships of the class have been built. First was Yuanwang 3, commissioned on 20 October 1995. The Yuanwang 4 tracking ship was constructed by China State Shipbuilding Corporation
and delivered to the China Satellite Launch and Tracking Control General on 18 July 1999. It had been converted from the previously used Xiang Yang Hong 10 scientific survey ship.
Another two Yuanwang-class vessels were launched in Shanghai in early 2007.
Pictures of Yuanwang 6 were published. Both Yuanwang 5 and the newly commissioned ship were on duty for the Shenzhou 7
mission.
During the Shenzhou spacecraft
flights, the four ships were positioned with:
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
and intercontinental ballistic missile
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
s by the People's Liberation Army Navy
People's Liberation Army Navy
The People's Liberation Army Navy is the naval branch of the People's Liberation Army , the military of the People's Republic of China. Until the early 1990s, the navy performed a subordinate role to the PLA Land Forces. Since then, it has undergone rapid modernisation...
(PLAN) of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
(PRC).
The detailed specifications of the ships are not released by the PLAN. They are thought to have a displacement tonnage
Tonnage
Tonnage is a measure of the size or cargo carrying capacity of a ship. The term derives from the taxation paid on tuns or casks of wine, and was later used in reference to the weight of a ship's cargo; however, in modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a calculation of the volume...
of around 21,000 tons
Long ton
Long ton is the name for the unit called the "ton" in the avoirdupois or Imperial system of measurements, as used in the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth countries. It has been mostly replaced by the tonne, and in the United States by the short ton...
when fully loaded, with a crew of about 470 and a length of about 190 meters (620 ft). Their propulsion is from one Sulzer Ltd. diesel engine, with a top speed of 20 knots (37 km/h).
The class was first proposed by Premier
Premier of the People's Republic of China
The Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China , sometimes also referred to as the "Prime Minister" informally, is the Leader of the State Council of the People's Republic of China , who is the head of government and holds the highest-ranking of the Civil service of the...
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
in 1965, and the idea was personally approved by Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
in 1968. The first two ships of the class, Yuanwang 1 and Yuanwang 2 were built at the Jiangnan Shipyard
Jiangnan Shipyard
Jiangnan Shipyard is a historic shipyard located in Shanghai, China. The shipyard has been state owned since its founding in 1865 and is now operated by Jiangnan Shipyard Co. Ltd. Before 2009, the shipyard was located to the south of central Shanghi Jiangnan Shipyard is a historic shipyard...
in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
and put to sea on 31 August 1977 and 1 September 1978 respectively. The general designer of this class is Mr. Xu Xueyan (许学彦, 1924- ). For the first time, this gave the PRC the ability to track launches and satellites that were not over their territory.
The first survey mission of the two ships was during May 1980. After being used for tracking of the launches of indigenously developed communications satellites, Yuanwang 1 and Yuanwang 2 underwent overhauls in 1986, so they could be used for supporting international satellite launches by the PRC.
Two further ships of the class have been built. First was Yuanwang 3, commissioned on 20 October 1995. The Yuanwang 4 tracking ship was constructed by China State Shipbuilding Corporation
China State Shipbuilding Corporation
The China State Shipbuilding Corporation is one of the two largest shipbuilding conglomerates in China, the other being the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation . CSSC consists of various ship yards, equipment manufacturers, research institutes and shipbuilding related companies in China...
and delivered to the China Satellite Launch and Tracking Control General on 18 July 1999. It had been converted from the previously used Xiang Yang Hong 10 scientific survey ship.
Another two Yuanwang-class vessels were launched in Shanghai in early 2007.
Pictures of Yuanwang 6 were published. Both Yuanwang 5 and the newly commissioned ship were on duty for the Shenzhou 7
Shenzhou 7
- Backup crew :Of the back-up crew, only Chen Quan had not previously flown in space.- Mission highlights :The Long March 2F rocket launched the Shenzhou 7 into an initial elliptical orbit of 200 x 330 kilometres inclined at 42.4 degrees on 25 September 2008. About seven hours later the spacecraft...
mission.
During the Shenzhou spacecraft
Shenzhou spacecraft
Shenzhou is a spacecraft developed and operated by the People's Republic of China to support its manned spaceflight program. The name is variously translated as "Divine Craft," "Divine Vessel of God," "Magic Boat" or similar and is also homophonous with an ancient name for China...
flights, the four ships were positioned with:
- Yuanwang 1 in the Yellow SeaYellow SeaThe Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
- Yuanwang 2 about 1500 km (about 900 statute miles) southwest of French PolynesiaFrench PolynesiaFrench Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
- Yuanwang 3 off the NamibiaNamibiaNamibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
n coast - Yuanwang 4 off the coast of Western AustraliaWestern AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
in the Indian OceanIndian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
Fleet List
- Yuanwang 1 - 1977
- Yuanwang 2 - 1978
- Yuanwang 3 - 1995
- Yuanwang 4 - 1999
- Yuanwang 5 - 2007
- Yuanwang 6 - 2007
Russian navy/ Soviet Navy
- Akademik Sergei KorolevAkademik Sergei KorolevThe Akademik Sergei Korolev was a space control-monitoring ship constructed in 1970 to support the Soviet space program. Named for Sergei Korolev, the head Soviet rocket engineer and designer during the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s, the ship also...
- Kosmonaut Yuri GagarinKosmonaut Yuri GagarinKosmonavt Yuri Gagarin was a Soviet space control-monitoring ship that was devoted to detecting and receiving satellite communications. Named after cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, she was completed in December 1971 to support the Soviet space program...
- 1971
United States Navy
- USNS Range Tracker (T-AGM-1)USNS Range Tracker (T-AGM-1)USNS Range Tracker was an Air Force Systems Command Range Tracker-class missile range instrumentation ship. She was acquired from the National Defense Reserve Fleet in the 1950s and converted into a missile range tracking ship with a civilian crew...
1961-1969 - USNS Range Recoverer (T-AGM-2) 1960-1972
- USNS Longview (T-AGM-3) 1960-?
- USNS Richfield (T-AGM-4) 1960-1968
- USNS Sunnyvale (T-AGM-5) 1960-1974
- USNS Watertown (T-AGM-6)USNS Watertown (T-AGM-6)USNS Watertown was a Watertown-class missile range instrumentation ship acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1960 and converted from her Victory ship cargo configuration to a missile tracking ship, a role she retained for eleven years before being placed out of service in 1971.-Victory ship constructed in...
1960-1971 - USNS Huntsville (T-AGM-7)USNS Huntsville (T-AGM-7)USNS Huntsville was a Watertown-class missile range instrumentation ship acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1960 and converted from her Victory ship cargo configuration to a missile tracking ship, a role she retained for a number of years before being struck from the Navy List in 1974.-Victory ship...
1960-1974 - USNS Wheeling (T-AGM-8)USNS Wheeling (T-AGM-8)USNS Wheeling was a Wheeling-class missile range instrumentation ship acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1962 and converted from her Victory ship cargo configuration to a missile tracking ship, a role she retained for a number of years before being sunk as a target by Harpoon missiles on 12 July...
1962-1990 - USNS General H. H. Arnold (T-AGM-9)
- USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10) 1964-1999
- USNS Twin Falls (T-AGM-11)USNS Twin Falls (T-AGM-11)SS Twin Falls Victory, named after Twin Falls, Idaho, was a Victory ship built for World War II. Converted to a Missile Range Instrumentation Ship, she was initially operated by the US Air Force as USAF Twin Falls Victory, before coming under US Navy control and being named USNS Twin Falls ...
1960-1969 - USNS American Mariner (T-AGM-12) 1959-1964
- USNS Sword Knot (T-AGM-13)USNS Sword Knot (T-AGM-13)USNS Sword Knot was a missile range instrumentation ship which operated as USAFS Sword Knot on the United States Air Force's Eastern Range during the late 1950s and early 1960s...
1964-1972? - USNS Rose Knot (T-AGM-14)USNS Rose Knot (T-AGM-14)USNS Rose Knot was a missile range instrumentation ship which operated as USAFS Rose Knot on the U.S. Air Force's Eastern Test Range during the late 1950s and early 1960s...
1964-1969 - USNS Coastal Sentry (T-AGM-15)
- USNS Coastal Crusader (T-AGM-16)USNS Coastal Crusader (T-AGM-16)USNS Coastal Crusader was acquired by the United States Navy as a missile range instrumentation ship in 1964. Originally, she was constructed at the end of World War II as USS Wexford and then renamed Coastal Crusader, but she was found to be excess-to-needs, and was sold for commercial use. She...
1964-1977 - USNS Timber Hitch (T-AGM-17)USNS Timber Hitch (T-AGM-17)USNS Timber Hitch was a U.S. Navy missile range instrumentation ship which earlier operated as the U.S. Air Force Ocean Range Vessel USAFS Timber Hitch on the U.S. Air Force's Eastern Test Range during the late 1950s and early 1960s...
1967-1979 - USNS Sampan Hitch (T-AGM-18)USNS Sampan Hitch (T-AGM-18)USNS Sampan Hitch was a missile range instrumentation ship which earlier operated as the U.S. Air Force Ocean Range Vessel USAFS Sampan Hitch on the U.S. Air Force's Eastern Test Range during the late 1950s and early 1960s...
1964-1973 - USNS Vanguard (T-AGM-19)
- USNS Redstone (T-AGM-20)USNS Mission De Pala (AO-114)SS Mission De Pala was a Type T2-SE-A2 tanker built for the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. After the war she was acquired by the United States Navy as USS Mission De Pala . Later the tanker transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service as USNS Mission De Pala ...
1964-? - USNS Mercury (T‑AGM‑21)USNS Mission San Juan (AO-126)SS Mission San Juan was a Type T2-SE-A2 tanker built for the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. After the war she was acquired by the United States Navy as USS Mission San Juan . Later the tanker transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service as USNS Mission San Juan ...
1964-1974? - USNS Range Sentinel (T-AGM-22)
- USNS Observation Island (T-AGM-23)USNS Observation Island (T-AGM-23)USNS Observation Island , also known as ex-MA-28, ex-YAG-57, ex-E-AG-154, Empire State Mariner, is the historic naval vessel that in 1969 launched the first Poseidon Fleet Ballstic Missile ever successfully deployed from a vessel at sea, earning the ship and crew the Meritorious Unit Commendation...
1977–present - USNS Invincible(T-AGM-24)USNS Invincible (T-AGM-24)USNS Invincible , also known as ex-AGOS 10 , is one of two Missile Range Instrumentation Ships operated by the Military Sealift Command. One of the radars it carries is the Cobra Gemini dual band, X band and S band, radar....
2000–present