China recently completed an advanced spacecraft tracking, telemetry and command network (TT&C), flight controllers told Xinhua News Agency Thursday.
The new TT&C, which achieves international standards, can support tracking and commanding of rocket launches in different directions and spacecraft operations in different orbits.
The Internet-based network will satisfy China's satellite development in low- and medium-Earth orbits, and some higher orbits over the next decade.
China established its first TT&C system in the 1960s. By the 1980s, it had been expanded to enable tracking of both Chinese and foreign satellites.
The original TT&C had its control centre in Xi'an, the Xi'an Satellite Control Centre (XSCC) in Shaanxi Province in central China; eight ground tracking stations of which five were fixed and three were mobile; and two TT&C Yuanwang tracking ships.
To meet the needs of recent rapid development in China's space technology, Beijing Tracking and Telecommunications Research Institute has expaned the original TT&C to include S-band tracking capability.
Other upgrades to the network include the addition of the new Dongfeng Launch Control Centre and the Beijing Spaceflight Commanding and Control Centre, and modification to XSCC.
The newly completed and improved TT&C allows remote monitoring and controlling of network management, and increases transparency in information transmission. The enhanced capabilities will also increase the efficiency of network usage.
