China has completed the world’s largest ultra-low coal-fired power plant emssions system, with coal consumption in energy mix dropping to 57.7%, according to Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
China’s new generation medium-sized launch vehicle Long March-8 made a successful maiden flight from the tropical island province of Hainan in South China on Tuesday, sending five satellites into designated orbit at the same time.
The 50.3-meter-long Long March-8 has a 3.35-meter-diameter core stage and two 2.25-meter-diameter side boosters. Weighing 356 tons at launch, it has a 480-ton take-off thrust and is capable of sending payloads weighing more than 4.5 tons into the SSO 700 kilometers above the ground.
A rocket engine needs to be throttleable to achieve zero velocity at the same time as it reaches the ground, which is a core technological requirement for building a reusable launch vehicle system.
This technology was tested for the first time in the Long March-8 maiden flight, which is also an experimental flight for the new rocket type, paving the way for further study and development for the reusable rocket system.
A complex international operation in Antarctica is under way to medevac an Australian expeditioner with help from China and the United States.
The Australian Antarctic Programme said on Monday that two separate ice runways were being built as part of a complex operation to transfer the patient from Australia’s Davis research station in the Antarctic back home to Australia.
A helicopter from the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long 2 helped fly a team of five, along with more than 1 tonne of equipment, to the ski landing area by Davis late on Sunday. A Chinese helicopter will also be used to transfer the Australian patient to the runway inland of Davis station.
