Beijing Aerospace Command & Control Centre
Last updated: 31 March 2008
Beijing Aerospace Command & Control Centre (BACC) is the commanding, decision-making and control centre of the key space flight missions in the PRC. It is part of the the Beijing Space City located in the northwest suburb of Beijing. The centre has been handling all six manned space flight missions (ShenZhou) since 1999 and more recently the lunar exploration mission (Chang’e) in 2007. Handling of the less complex space flight missions, such as satellites, stays with the Xi’an Satellite Control Centre (XCCC).
Construction of the BACC began in 1994 as part of the Beijing Space City. The BACC was completed in 1997, and was used for the first time during the ShenZhou 1 spacecraft mission in November 1999. The centre was able to monitor, coordinate, and control the spacecraft launch, tracking, and recovery in real time via domestic and overseas ground tracking stations and four “Yuanwang” space tracking ships stationed in Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. During the manned Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 6 flight missions, ground control staffs, Chinese leaders, and astronauts’ family members were able to communicate with the astronauts in space using video and audio links.
The nerve centre of the BACC is the command & control hall, where the control commands are sent to the launch site, tracking stations and ships, and the recovery site. It also collects information from these entities for evaluation of situations and decision making. The command & control hall is equipped with large projector screens and control consoles, as well as a visitor area for VIPs and press. The control centre is staffed by both civilian engineers and military personnel from the PLA General Armament Department (GAD).
 
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