Silkworms onboard China's 22nd recoverable satellite completed their 18-day space trip and returned to the Beijing Aerospace City successfully Sept 18, 2005. The "space silkworms" entered the space onboard China's 22nd recoverable satellite August 29, 2005. Six students from the Beijing Jingshan Middle School who participated in the experiment witnessed the moment when the "silkworms" blast off with the satellite.
In 1999 NASA started to solicit space experimental plan among students around the world. Li Taotao, a student at grade four in Beijing Jingshan Primary School submitted a plan named "silkworm's spinning and cocooning in space", which aimed to study "silkworms' lifespan in the space". Li's plan was finally selected by NASA as part of the space biotechnology program. The experiment, planned to be conducted onboard Columbia in January 2003, was suspended due to the space shuttle Columbia's accident.
The experiment caught attention from Chinese scientific departments and all walks of society. Many noted scientists participated and gave their instructions. China Aerospace Science & Technology Corporation (CASC) finally decided to carry out the experiment onboard China's 22nd recoverable satellite. The success of the "space silkworm" experiment shows advanced design of the satellite and reliability of the platform. It is capable to host more experiments in the future according to Tang Bochang, chief designer of the recoverable satellite.
China's 22nd recoverable scientific experimental satellite landed successfully in Sichuan Province in the central part of southwest of China on Friday morning after an 18-day flight.
Instruments aboard the experimental scientific satellite, which was launched on August 29 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China's Gansu Province, functioned normally while the satellite orbited the Earth.
While in orbit, the instruments on the satellite completed a series of scientific experiments, including land surveying and mapping. The Satellite Track and Control Centre tracked and controlled the satellite from Xi'an.
A Long March 2D Rocket Body launched on the 29th August 2005 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre will re-enter the Earths atmosphere on the 11th September 2005 @ 10:08 UTC ± 19 hours.
China has launched the 22nd return experimental satellite onto the orbit with a Long March-2IV rocket carrier from the Jiuquan Satellite Launching Center, in the northwest, today. The satellite has entered the preset orbit and is now operating normally, according to the Xian Satellite Measuring and Control Centre, in northwest China. The satellite will carry out a series of jobs on scientific research, land surveying, mapping and space-technological tests.
It is the country's 87th launching of satellite over the past 35 years and the 45th successful launching since October 1996. It is also the seventh flight of the Long March-2IV family. Long March-2IV, a two-section, normal temperature rocket, is 40.6 meters in length and 251 kilograms in flying-off.