Good weather expected for Tianzhou-1 space launch

Photo taken on April 17, 2017 shows the cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-1 being transferred with a Long March-7 Y2 carrier rocket from the testing center to the launch zone in Wenchang, south China’s Hainan Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Weather conditions will be suitable for the launch of China’s first cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou-1, according to the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern island province of Hainan.

Tianzhou-1 is scheduled for launch from the center at 7:41 p.m. Thursday (Beijing Time).

Meteorologists expect cloudy weather conditions during the scheduled launch time.

As the Wenchang center is located in a coastal area, thunderstorms and heavy rain, which are increasingly frequent in April in the area, may have a huge impact on rocket launch missions, according to meteorologist Guo Xuewen.

The meteorologists’ analysis found that some unfavorable weather may appear starting Friday afternoon, but is unlikely to affect the launch, which is scheduled for Thursday, according to Zhao Xiaoping, a meteorologist with the Wenchang center.

The meteorologists will intensify weather monitoring for the center from Thursday afternoon, the center said in a statement.

Zoology Museum talk – Conservation in the Quarry

From the Curator of Museum Services, University of Dundee :

The next evening talk in the D’Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum will be on Tuesday 25th April at 6pm, when Jim Cook of the Dundee Naturalists’ Society will be speaking about Conservation in the Quarry: Care and Maintenance of a Small Nature Refuge.

Well over 150 members and friends of the Dundee Nats have been working at Carsegowniemuir Quarry over recent years carrying out a wide variety of conservation tasks, including planting some 1,400 trees of 23 native species.

The site has developed and improved, with the full support of the owners, and is now starting to attract an increasing number of different species. Jim will tell us what’s involved in organising a small nature refuge such as this – what kind of tasks are needed? How can you find out what’s there to begin with and what can you do to encourage more wildlife in?

Jim is a long-standing member of Dundee Nats and has lectured in biology for many years. He has been the sub-committee organiser for the quarry for the last 15 years.

Refreshments will be served after the talk. Please enter the Carnelley Building by the main front entrance. Latecomers may not be admitted.

Admission is free but please reserve a space here.

China launches first cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-1

China on Thursday evening launched its first cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou-1, into space, a crucial step for the country in building a space station by approximately 2022.

Lifted by a Long March-7 Y2 carrier rocket, Tianzhou-1 roared into the air from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in south China’s Hainan Province.

In space, the cargo ship will dock with the orbiting Tiangong-2 space lab, provide fuel and other supplies, and conduct space experiments before falling back to Earth.

China aims to build a permanent space station that is expected to orbit for at least 10 years, and the debut of the cargo ship is important as it acts as a courier to help maintain the space station.

Without a cargo transportation system, the station would run out of power and basic necessities, causing it to return to Earth before the designated time.

Former senior Hebei official stands trial for bribery

Zhang Yue, a former provincial-level official in north China’s Hebei Province, stood trial Thursday at a court in east China’s Jiangsu Province for accepting bribes.

Prosecutors accused Zhang of taking advantage of his positions to seek benefits for others and of accepting money and assets worth more than 157 million yuan (nearly 23 million U.S. dollars) between 2008 and 2016.

Zhang was a former member of the standing committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Hebei Provincial Committee and former secretary of the CPC’s Hebei provincial committee for political and legal affairs.

The case was tried at the Intermediate People’s Court of Changzhou City in Jiangsu.

Zhang made a statement to the court in which he pled guilty and expressed remorse.

More than 60 people, including legislators, political advisors, journalists and members of the public, were present at the trial.

The verdict will be announced at another date.

Xi Jinping elected delegate to 19th CPC National Congress

Xi Jinping was elected delegate to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) by a unanimous vote at the 12th CPC Guizhou provincial congress.

A total of 2,300 delegates to the national congress, slated for the second half of 2017, are being elected by 40 electoral units across the country. The election will be completed by June.