An artist's illustration of China's Queqiao relay satellite, which will relay data between controllers on Earth and China's Chang'e 4 lander-rover pair on the moon's far side. [Photo/China National Space Administration] XICHANG, Sichuan Province -- The relay satellite, launched Monday for China's Chang'e-4 lunar probe, is carrying the largest communication antenna ever used in deep space exploration, according to Chinese experts. The launch of the satellite Queqiao, or Magpie Bridge, is a key step for China to realize its goal of sending the Chang'e-4 lunar probe to soft-land on the far side of the Moon. Queqiao, developed by China Spacesat Co Ltd under the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), will be the world's first communication satellite operating in an orbit around the L2 point of the Earth-Moon system to establish a communication link between controllers on Earth and the probe. Chinese experts designed several antennas for the relay satellite, including one shaped like an umbrella with a diameter of 5 meters, which opened in space after the satellite separated from the carrier rocket. It must endure temperatures as cold as 230 degrees centigrade below zero. Chinese experts conducted countless experiments during the development of the antenna, said Chen Lan, deputy chief engineer of the Xi'an Branch of CAST. The satellite is of great scientific and engineering importance in the exploration of the universe, said Zhang Lihua, manager of the relay satellite project. A reliable long-distance data transmission link is a key technological goal for space experts around the world. A relay satellite is a type of communication satellite that provides data transmission, observation and control services for other spacecraft. China has already sent a series of relay satellites into geosynchronous orbit at an altitude of 36,000 km for manned spacecraft. Queqiao is similar to those relay satellites, but its orbit is more than 10 times farther, which is the main technological difficulty. customize your own charm braceletcustom wristbands canadalogo braceletscustom silicone braceletswhite rubber wristbands
SEOUL - Eight journalists from the Republic of Korea (ROK) will visit the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Wednesday to cover the planned dismantling of the DPRK's nuclear test site, raising expectations for the suspended inter-Korean talks to be resumed in the near future.Seoul's unification ministry said the journalists will leave for the DPRK's east city of Wonsan at 12:30 pm local time (0330 GMT) on a government plane from an airport outside of the capital Seoul.The ROK airplane carrying the reporters will fly via a direct route in the eastern waters to the DPRK city.The visit was permitted at the last minute as Pyongyang received the list of the ROK journalists earlier in the day at the opening call of the inter-Korean hotline in the border village of Panmunjom.The DPRK has invited journalists from China, Russia, the United States, Britain and the ROK to let them witness the dismantling of the Punggye-ri underground nuclear test site, where all of its six nuclear tests were conducted, scheduled for May 23-25.Except for the ROK journalists, other press corps already arrived at Wonsan Tuesday on a flight from Beijing.The press corps, joined by the ROK reporters, were expected to go by train to the nuclear test site for reporting on the dismantlement scheduled for later this week.The DPRK had refused to receive the list of the ROK journalists, citing the annual ROK-US air combat exercises, codenamed Max Thunder.The air drills reportedly mobilized about 100 aircrafts, including eight US F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets. The radar-evading fighter is used to secretly attack an enemy target.The ROK had claimed the joint air drills were defensive in nature, while the DPRK considered it a dress rehearsal for the northward invasion.As Pyongyang permitted the ROK media to cover the nuclear test site dismantling, expectations ran high for the suspended inter-Korean talks to be resumed.The DPRK made a pre-dawn cancellation last week of the scheduled high-level talks with the ROK citing the air drills between Seoul and Washington.During the summit meeting in Washington with US President Donald Trump, ROK President Moon Jae-in said he expected the resumption of the halted inter-Korean talks after the Max Thunder ends on May 25, according to the Blue House of the ROK.At the meeting, Moon and Trump agreed to make best efforts to let the DPRK-US summit happen on June 12 as scheduled, Moon's senior press secretary Yoon Young-chan said.Trump said at the meeting with Moon that his scheduled meeting with top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore may not work out for June 12, raising a possibility for the delayed first-ever summit between the DPRK and the United States.The US president said certain conditions needed to be met for the DPRK-US summit, but he did not elaborate on details. If we don't, we won't have the meeting, said Trump.The DPRK warned last week that Pyongyang would have to reconsider whether to attend the Singapore meeting if the United States only wants to press the DPRK to abandon its nuclear arsenal. custom sports braceletscoloured wristbands for eventsembossed wristbandswaterproof wristbands for eventsbracelet maker rubber<%2fcenter>
