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Key Information
- Official Name: North Launch Site
- Status: Abandoned
- Launch Pads: 2 (Non-operational)
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Summary
The North Launch Site was constructed in the late-1960s in order to support China’s long-range ballistic missile test and space launch missions. The last space launch from the North Launch Site took place in October 1996, and the launch facility in the site has been abandoned since then.
The North Launch Site consists of following facilities:
- Launch Area 2
(LA2)
- Launch Pad No.5020 (north)
- Launch Pad No.138 (south)
- Mobile Service Tower
- Launch Control Centre
- Technical Area
- Telemetry Tracking Station
- Optical Tracking Station
The two launch pads are 430m away from each other. Each launch pad has an umbilical tower, which serves as a platform for LV fuelling and pre-launch final checks. The tower is 45 metres high, 7.8 metres wide, and 7.8 metres long. The tower is equipped with an elevator with a loading capacity of 1,000kg. There are a total of seven floors on the tower, five of which are in the form of rotating platform, and two foldable platforms.
A mobile service tower moving between the two launch pads on rail tracks is used for launch vehicle erection and payload integration. The tower body is 55.23m high, 30.52m long, and 20.9m wide. The tower is equipped with a 15t-capacity crane and two elevators each with a loading capacity of 500kg. There are six floors of operating platforms on the mobile service tower, with a spacecraft processing room located at heights of 29m~42m inside the tower.
The launch control centre is situated inside an underground bunker about 170m away from the Pad No.5020 and 580m from the Pad No.138. The centre consists of control room (firing room), satellite testing room, LV testing room, power supply, air-conditioning, and communication systems.
Last updated: 5 October 2008 |
