Inside CHINA'S Satellite Launch Centers!

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Satellite Launch Centers There are three major space launch bases in China: Jiuquan, Taiyuan and Xichang. All three are located in sparsely populated areas with flat terrain and broad field of vision. Xichang Located in the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture of southwest China's Sichuan Province, the Xichang Satellite Launch Center is designed mainly to launch powerful thrust rockets and geostationary satellites. Known for its agreeable weather and picturesque scenes, most pictures shown on Chinese television of rockets taking off are shot here. Established in 1970, its headquarters are located 60 kilometers northwest of Xichang City, in Sichuan Province. The ideal time for launching satellites from Xichang is from October to May. The center was completed in 1983 and started operating the following year. Since that time it has launched China's first experimental communications satellite, first operational communications satellite, and first combined communications and broadcast satellite. Xichang has two launch pads: one for the launch of geostationary communications satellites and meteorological satellites by Long March CZ-3 rockets and the other for the lift-off of Long March CZ-2 strap-on launch vehicle and the Long March CZ-3 series rockets. http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/world/china/xichang.htm Base 27 Xichang Satellite Launch Center The second PRC space facility is the Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) which supports all geostationary [GEO] missions from its location in southern China. Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) is situated in Xichang, Sichuan Province, south-western China. The launch pad is at 102.0 degrees East and 28.2 degrees North. The head office of the launch center is located in Xichang City, about 65 kilometers away from the launch site. Xichang Airport is 50km from the launch site and a dedicated railway and highway lead directly to the launch site. XSLC's state of the art facilities provide support to every phase of a satellite launch mission. The Technical Center is fully equipped for testing and integration of the payload and launch vehicle. The Mission Command and Control Center, located 7 kilometers southwest of the launch pad, is the heart of flight and safety control during overall system rehearsal and launch. The Xichang Space Launch Center, from which US-manufactured satellites are launched, is located within a PLA military installation. Yet the US satellite manufacturer is required to maintain control over certain portions of the facilities and to make them secure during the time a US satellite and its associated documents and equipment are located there.

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PRC Xichang Satellite Launch Center Eyeball

China Great Wall Industry Corporation http://www.cgwic.com/launch/center1.html http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.221822,102.04365&z=13&t=h&hl=en http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.235486,102.02968&z=14&t=h&hl=en Tracking Station

INSIDE NUCLEAR FACILITY AT CHINA

INSIDE NUCLEAR FACILITY AT CHINA

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This shows selected PRC nuclear weapons testing sites, research and manufacturing facilities, missile defense sites, satellite launch facilities, weapons storage areas and a submarine base. Submit errors to cryptome[at]earthlink.net. Satellite photos and Panoramios from Google Earth. More information: http://www.atomicarchive.com/Almanac/PRCFacilities.shtml (Source of captions for many of the photos.) http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/china/index.html http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/china/nuke.htm http://www.nti.org/db/china/wnwmdat.htm http://www.cdi.org/issues/nukef&f/database/chnukes.html http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/issues/facilities/chinese-nuclear-weapons-facilities.htm Compare to US Nuclear Weapons Facilities: http://eyeball-series.org/nwsa/nwsa-eyeball.htm http://eyeball-series.org/kumsc-eyeball/kumsc-eyeball.htm http://eyeball-series.org/pantex-eyeball.htm http://eyeball-series.org/daf-eyeball.htm http://eyeball-series.org/lanl/lanl-eyeball.htm http://eyeball-series.org/llnl/llnl-eyeball.htm http://eyeball-series.org/ornl-eyeball.htm http://eyeball-series.org/nellis-eyeball.htm http://eyeball-series.org/cnws-eyeball.htm http://eyeball-series.org/kings/kings-eyeball.htm http://eyeball-series.org/bangor-eyeball.htm

http://web.archive.org/web/20011005021635/www.bullatomsci.org/issues/1991/may91/may91fieldhouse.html Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, May 1991, Vol. 47, No. 4 China's mixed signals on nuclear weapons. By Richard Fieldhouse [Excerpts] China was bitter about the Soviet action and was forced to practice what it preached about self-reliance, a lesson etched deep on the Chinese psyche. In the end China would point with pride to its own considerable nuclear accomplishments. But the split caused major disruptions to the program, forcing China to reorganize its all-at- once approach. China made uranium enrichment the highest priority and suspended work on plutonium production. The Soviet pull-out caused delays in the construction of the main gaseous diffusion plant at Lanzhou and brought to a halt design and construction work in the main plutonium production and processing center in Subei county. A nuclear fuel component plant was built in Baotou, for producing uranium tetrafluoride, nuclear fuel rods, and lithium-6 deuteride. Plutonium work was resumed after China's first nuclear test in 1964 and the Subei facility is now known as the Jiuquan Atomic Energy Complex, where nuclear weapons also are assembled. A nuclear weapon design academy was established near Haiyan, east of Lake Qinghai. Starting in the late 1960s China built a duplicate set of nuclear weapon research, production, and assembly facilities in Sichuan Province. These include a weapon research and design center in Mianyang; an entire atomic energy complex, larger than the Jiuquan complex, in Guangyuan county; and a nuclear fuel production plant in Yibin. China is believed to rely mostly on these facilities today. The other major nuclear weapon facility is the nuclear test site at Lop Nur, where China has conducted all 36 of its tests to date. These facilities constitute the core of China's nuclear weapon research, design, and production infrastructure. China relied on them, along with missile and bomber production and test centers, to build a nuclear arsenal intended initially to strike at U.S. targets.

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People's Republic of China Nuclear Weapons Facilities Eyeball

Vertical Shaft Testing Facilities, Near Hsin-ko-erh http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.580675,88.698356&z=14&t=h&hl=en

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.591805,88.70104&z=14&t=h&hl=en

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.551773,88.698095&z=15&t=h&hl=en

Horizontal Shaft Testing Sites, North of Po-cheng-tzu http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.703288,88.375203&z=14&t=h&hl=en

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=43.086961,90.634231&z=15&t=h&hl=en

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=43.08178,90.610801&z=15&t=h&hl=en

Decommissioned Nuclear Test Sites, Near Mapisi, Qinghai http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=37.010691,100.77938&z=13&t=h&hl=en Site 2

Da Quaidam - 412 Brigade Dong Feng-4 missiles can be launched from this site. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=37.860717,95.340475&z=13&t=h&hl=en

Xiao Qaidam Dong Feng-4 missiles can be launched from this site. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=37.532846,95.450176&z=14&t=h&hl=en

Delingha- 414 Brigade Dong Feng-4 missiles can be launched from this site. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=37.385217,97.380642&z=14&t=h&hl=en

Northwest Nuclear Weapons Research and Design Academy, Haiyan Mapisi, Qinghai The Haiyan or Koko Nor complex in Qinghai Province in Tibet was the major nuclear weapons R&D center in China and, up to the early 1970s it was the major weapons fabrication center as well. This large nuclear stockpile site and nearby weapons development complex had facilities for high explosive and fissile component production, general component (cases, electrical systems) production, final weapons assembly, HE component testing, and environment testing. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.948415,100.89738&z=12&t=h&hl=en

A photo posted on Google Earth northwest of Mapisi which could not be correlated with a facility. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=37.177592,100.35686&z=16&t=h&hl=en

Datong- 409 Brigade and Datong Airbase (Lanzhou Airport) Datong is also the primary deployment base for 120 Hong-6 medium range bombers. Dong Feng-3A missiles can be launched from near this site. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.512466,103.6005&z=14&t=h&hl=en

Lanzhou Gaseous Diffusion Plant The GDP became operational in 1964 and for many years was China's main site for highly enriched uranium (HEU) production for nuclear weapons. GDP uses the gaseous diffusion technique for uranium enrichment. In mid 1997, Chinese officials decided to shut down the Lanzhou enrichment facility due to its inefficient reliance on a large hydroelectric plant for electricity generation and the availability of more advanced enrichment technologies (such as gas centrifuges) from Russia. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.151151,103.51911&z=14&t=h&hl=en

Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang / Zitong The Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics, also known as the Southwest Institute, is the primary design laboratory for Chinese nuclear weapons. An unknown number of warheads are stored at this site. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=31.478625,104.73037&z=11&t=h&hl=en No Google high-res photo available.

Yibin Nuclear Fuels Factory The Nuclear Fuel Component Plant (Plant 812) is focused on Plutonium fuel rod fabrication, and plutonium production and processing for nuclear weapons. The Plant 812 facility is probably engaged in the production of tritium and Li-6 deuterium as part of China's nuclear weapons program. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.768064,104.62385&z=13&t=h&hl=en No Google high-res photo available.

Chuxiong- 402 Brigade Dong Feng-21 missiles can be launched from this site. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=25.060956,101.55642&z=15&t=h&hl=en

Kunming - 80303 Unit / 3 Division Dong Feng-3A missiles can be launched from this site. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=25.052629,102.70893&z=12&t=h&hl=en No Google high-res photo available.

Jianshui- 408 Brigade Dong Feng-3A missiles and Dong Feng-21A missiles, can be launched from this site. No Google high-res photo available.

Tongdao - 405 Brigade Dong Feng-4 missiles can be launched from this site. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=26.145587,109.77152&z=15&t=h&hl=en

Dalong- 403 Brigade Dong Feng-3A missiles can be launched from this site. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=26.631851,114.02911&z=14&t=h&hl=en

Lianxiwang - 407 Brigade Dong Feng-3A missiles and Dong Feng-21A missiles, can be launched from this site. No Google high-res photo available.

Sundian - 404 Brigade Dong Feng-4 missiles can be launched from this site. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=33.256114,114.74552&z=11&t=h&hl=en

Luoning- 401 Brigade Dong Feng-5A missiles can be launched from this site. No Google high-res photo available.

Jianggezhuang Submarine Base The one operational Zia-class, nuclear powered submarine at this site is armed with the Julang-1 submarine-launched ballistic missile. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.110213,120.58501&z=14&t=h&hl=en

Yidu Dong Feng-3A missiles can be launched from this site. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.679074,118.47885&z=12&t=h&hl=en No Google high-res photo available.

Dengshahe - 410 Brigade Dong Feng-3A missiles can be launched from this site. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=39.214661,122.0711&z=14&t=h&hl=en No Google high-res photo available.

China Institute of Atomic Energy, Tuoli (Northwest of Nanfang) The China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE) at Tuoli, near Beijing, is a comprehensive research and production base in the nuclear research and development in China. Facilities include a laboratory-scale gaseous diffusion facility. http://www.ciae.ac.cn/ciae.htm http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=39.743433,116.03639&z=15&t=h&hl=en

Xuanhua Dong Feng-5A missiles can be launched from this site. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.533888,115.09295&z=16&t=h&hl=en

Tonghua - 406 Brigade Dong Feng-3A missiles and Dong Feng-21A missiles, can be launched from this site. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.715089,125.94208&z=12&t=h&hl=en No Google high-res photo available.

Harbin Harbin in Heilogiang has been reported as a possible warhead assembly and production site. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=45.737153,126.68755&z=10&t=h&hl=en No Google high-res photo available.

Batou Nuclear Fuel Component Plant http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.590401,109.79452&z=15&t=h&hl=en

Jiuquan Atomic Energy Complex, Subei The Jiuquan Atomic Energy Complex (Plant 404) is centered on a 400-500MW light water graphite reactor fueled with natural uranium. The facility includes a pilot plutonium reprocessing plant and a large-scale reprocessing plant with a capacity of 300-400kg Pu/yr (both use PUREX method). It also includes a Nuclear Fuel Processing Plant for refining plutonium into weapons-usable metals. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.213933,97.359039&z=11&t=h&hl=en

Han-chia-ho Near Guangyuan http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=32.411198,105.76942&z=13&t=h&hl=en

NORTHWEST DISTRICT: Contains: (a) Scientific city of Malan, the headquarters of the test site and residence for the scientists, engineers, and technicians. Located about 100 km northwest of the test site. The town has a notable infrastructure, including an airport. (b) A nuclear institute (possibly the Red Mountain Institute), tens of km northwest of Malan, which acts as a nuclear research center, including the study of hydromechanics, optics, physics, radiation, chemistry, computing, and data management. The institute also houses archives on nuclear explosions, anti-nuclear warfare, nuclear weapons designs, etc. Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology (NWINT) NWINT runs the Red Mountain Institute, located in Malan, about 200 km northwest of Lop Nor. The Institute was established in 1963, and is a modern center for nuclear weapons research and testing. The Institute contains a large archive on nuclear explosions, nuclear warfare, and nuclear weapons design. In May 1999, the Institute was added to the US Commerce Department's "Entity List" so that all exports or re-exports to it require an export license. This step is aimed at preventing exports which would materially contribute to missile proliferation.

Air Base and Weapons Storage Area, Near Uxxaktal (Malan), Qinhai http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=42.193246,87.196088&z=13&t=h&hl=en Compare to much larger US nuclear bunker: http://cryptome.org/kumsc-eyeball.htm

Shuangchengzi Air Base http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.414671,99.801342&z=13&t=h&hl=en

Weapons Storage Areas, Shuangchengzi Air Base http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.429132,99.847167&z=16&t=h&hl=en

Satellite and Missile Launch Complex, North of Shuangchengzi http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.980604,100.25227&z=13&t=h&hl=en

Surface to Air Missile (SAM) Testing, Near Shuangchengzi http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.079508,100.50913&z=14&t=h&hl=en

Unknown Complex, North of Shuangchengzi http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.049198,100.23959&z=14&t=h&hl=en

Satellite and Missile Launch Facilities, Pao-lu-wu-lo http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.304845,100.33849&z=13&t=h&hl=en

Unknown Facility, Luyuan http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.103762,100.27533&z=14&t=h&hl=en