The Xi’an Satellite Control Center has basically accomplished the construction of the in-orbit spacecraft diagnosis and maintenance center, the state key lab of aerodynamics and a large number of high-tech equipment and installations.

　　The person in charge of the center disclosed that with the operation of these high-tech means, the Xi’an Satellite Control Center will be able to carry out real-time tracking for several types of spacecraft simultaneously and manage nearly 100 in-orbit satellites for a long term, realizing a new leapfrog in its capability of managing in-orbit spacecraft and malfunction handling. As a result, the intelligent level of China’s spacecraft control will be greatly lifted.

　　In recent years, the center has overcome the technical barriers in the precise orbit confirmation of lunar probe spacecraft and long-distance tracking and survey. Furthermore, the center has made breakthroughs in such key technologies as gesture predication for satellite out of control for a long time, propellant safe unfreezing, instruction delivery in short time and high-intensity as well as big control volume orbital transfer with small thrust, laying a solid foundation for China’s follow-up deep-space exploration.

　　By Yuan Sanhu and Ma Jing