实践 Shíjiàn | |
Program overview | |
---|---|
Country | ![]() |
Organization | China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) |
Purpose | Unknown, varied |
Status | Active |
Program history | |
Duration | 1971–present |
First flight | 3 March 1971 |
Last flight | 8 January 2023 |
Successes | 37 |
Failures | 5 |
Launch site(s) | |
Vehicle information | |
Launch vehicle(s) |
Shijian (simplified Chinese: 实践; traditional Chinese: 實踐; pinyin: Shíjiàn; lit. 'Practice', abbr. "SJ") is a series of satellites built and operated by the People's Republic of China. Some Shijian-series satellites have drawn significant concerns from the United States government and space observers who cite unannounced launches, undisclosed sub-satellites deployed in orbit, unusual orbital maneuvers, and demonstrated rendezvous proximity operations (RPO) including the close inspection and towing of other satellites.[1][2][3][4]
Little is known about the series and what differentiates it from other experimental satellite series launched by China such as the Chuangxin (Chinese: 创新; pinyin: Chuàngxīn; lit. 'Innovation') series or Shiyan (Chinese: 实验; pinyin: Shíyàn; lit. 'Experiment') series.[5] The China Aerospace Studies Institute of the United States Air Force asserts that Shiyan-series satellites play an earlier role in the systems development process testing various new technologies on a single bus while Shijan-series satellites are used to develop operational best practices and optimize the technologies previously tested on Shiyan-series satellites.[6] In this regard, "Shijian" should be translated as "best practice", or "put into practice" while "Shiyan" ought to be translated as "experiment", "pilot", or "trial".
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