Guangde Rocket Launch Site () also known as Base 603 (603基地) is a suborbital launch site that was operated by the
Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS; ) is the national academy for natural sciences and the highest consultancy for science and technology of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's largest research organization, with 106 research i ...
located in Shijiedu (),
Shijie Town (),
Guangde County,
Xuancheng Prefecture,
Anhui province
Anhui is an inland province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiangxi to the south, Hub ...
on the
Chinese east coast.
The location of the site was surrounded by mountains in four directions, with no roads and no access to resources, but it was chosen as an upgrade to the too limited facilities of the
Nanhui Launch Site.
History
The construction of the launch site was started in March 1960 under the direction of Department 581 (including the Second Geophysics Institute), and completed in less than six months, including a weather station, radars, control and tracking stations, launch pad, service tower, propellant storage room, propulsion testing facilities, living quarters, etc.
The launch center was first directed by the
Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences (), then in June 1960 by the
Shanghai Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (). Finally the
Fifth Academy of the Ministry of National Defence () took control in 1963.
China launched its first ever successful
T-7 sounding rocket in September 1960.
From 1960 to 1966, several of the
T-7 and T-7A
sounding rocket
A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The rockets are often ...
s were launched at the site.
The first successful flight of a biological experimental
T-7A/S1 sounding rocket transporting eight white mice was launched and recovered on July 19, 1964.
The last launch was reportedly that of a
dog
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...
aboard a
T-7A/S2 on 28 July 1966.
See also
*
Chinese space program
The space program of the People's Republic of China is about the activities in outer space conducted and directed by the China, People's Republic of China. The roots of the Chinese space program trace back to the 1950s, when, with the help ...
References
External links
Shijiedu Encyclopedia Astronautica
The ''Encyclopedia Astronautica'' is a reference web site on Space exploration, space travel. The encyclopedia includes 79,433 articles with 13,741 illustrations, a comprehensive catalog of missiles, spacecraft, space technology, astronauts, an ...
{{Spaceport
Rocket launch sites in China
Xuancheng
Chinese space program facilities
Spaceports in China