By 
July 18th, 2022
Credit: China Central Television (CCTV)/China National Space Administration (CNSA)/United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)/China Manned Space Agency (CMSA)/Inside Outer Space screengrab
China is developing the prototype sample of the country’s first space telescope Xuntian, also known as Chinese Survey Space Telescope or the Chinese Space Station Telescope
According to the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, the space telescope has an aperture of two meters and loaded with state-of-art detectors. A bus-sized facility, the telescope has a length equal to that of a three-storied building and weighs more than 10 tons.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Two part telescope
“The Xuntian space telescope consists of two parts. One is the Xuntian optical facility, and the other is the Xuntian platform. The Xuntian optical facility is a telescope and it has many subsystems,” Zhan Hu, principle scientist of the Xuntian optical facility and researcher from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences told China Central Television (CCTV).
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
The first-generation Xutian space telescope consists of five observation apparatus, including the Xuntian module, the terahertz module, the multichannel imager, the integral field spectrograph, and the extrasolar planetary imaging coronagraph.
The Xuntian module, a camera with a wide field of view, will take up major observation time.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Independent flight
“We are still developing the prototype sample. Currently, we’ve completed the development of all subsystems, components, and units, and we are preparing for the test after they are assembled,” said Xu Shuyan, chief designer of the Xuntian optical facility and researcher from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
“After this, we will start the development of the telescope sample, and start the research of the flying parts. Then we will conduct the joint test with the Xuntian platform and the test at the launch base, before it is launched,” Xu told CCTV.
During its normal observations, the space telescope will fly independently in the same orbit as China’s space station – but at a faraway distance.
The space telescope will be launched after the construction of the space station is completed and will be put into operation around 2024.
For an informative video about China’s space telescope effort, go to:
Posted in Space News
