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 Yuan Wang 2 inWaitemata Harbour,Auckland, New Zealand, on 27 October 2005. The ship was resupplying after being at sea to support theShenzhou 6 spaceflight. | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Yuan Wang 1 and 2 -Jiangnan Shipyard, Shanghai / Yuan Wang 3 to 6 -China State Shipbuilding Corporation,Shanghai |
| Operators | People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force |
| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | none |
| Completed | 7 |
| Active | 4 |
| Retired | 2, 1 destroyed as target |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | tracking ship |
| Displacement | ~21,000tons (Yuan Wang 1 and 2: 10,000+ / Yuan Wang 3 and 4 18,000) |
| Length | Yuan Wang 1 - 156.09 m / Yuan Wang 2 - 191 metres; Yuan Wang 3-6 - N/A |
| Beam | Yuan Wang 1 - 20.6 metres / Yuan Wang 2 - 22 metres; Yuan Wang 3-6 - N/A |
| Propulsion | Sulzerdiesel engine |
| Speed | 20 knots (37 km/h) |
| Complement | Yuan Wang 1 - 200 / Yuan Wang 2 - 470; Yuan Wang 3-6 - N/A |
| Aircraft carried | none, but capable of handling eitherSuper Frelon orZ-8 |
| Aviation facilities | none |
TheYuan Wang-class (Chinese:远望;lit. 'far-seeing'Yuǎn wàng) are aline ofChinesetracking ships used for surveillance and communication oflaunch vehiclerockets andintercontinental ballistic missiles by thePeople's Liberation Army Aerospace Force.[1] This class is not of a single ship design, but instead is a group of different designs under the same series that share the same name. The ships are all assigned to theChina Maritime Satellite Telemetry and Control Department inJianyin,Jiangsu province.
Detailed specifications for every ship have not been released by the PLASSF.Yuan Wang 1 andYuan Wang 2 are thought to have adisplacement tonnage of around 21,000 tons when fully loaded, with a crew of about 470 and a length of about 190 metres (620 ft). Their propulsion is from oneSulzerdiesel engine, with a top speed of 20 knots (37 km/h).[citation needed]
The class was first proposed byPremierZhou Enlai in 1965, and was approved byMao Zedong in 1968. The first two ships of the class,Yuan Wang 1 andYuan Wang 2, were built at theJiangnan Shipyard inShanghai and put to sea on 31 August 1977 and 1 September 1978 respectively. The general designer of this class isXu Xueyan [zh]. For the first time, this gave the PRC the ability to track launches and satellites that were not over their territory.[citation needed]
The first survey mission of the two ships was during May 1980. After being used for tracking of the launches of indigenously developed communications satellites,Yuan Wang 1 andYuan Wang 2 underwent overhauls in 1986, so they could be used for supporting international satellite launches by the PRC.[citation needed]
Two further ships of the class have been built. The first wasYuan Wang 3, which was commissioned on 20 October 1995. TheYuan Wang 4 tracking ship was constructed byChina State Shipbuilding Corporation and delivered to theChina Satellite Launch and Tracking Control General on 18 July 1999. It had been converted from the previously usedXiang Yang Hong 10 scientific survey ship.[citation needed]
Another two Yuan Wang-class vessels were launched in Shanghai in early 2007.[2]
Pictures ofYuan Wang 6 were published, and bothYuan Wang 5 and the newly commissioned ship were on duty for theShenzhou 7 mission.[3]
During theShenzhou spacecraft flights, the four ships were positioned as follows:[4][failed verification]
Type 718tracking ship is the very first design of Yuanwang series, and it consists of two ships, Yuan Wang 1 and Yuan Wang 2, both of which have since retired in the early 2010s. Type 718 can attain speeds of 20 kn.
| Number | Length (m) | Width (m) | Draft (m) | Height (m) | Displacement (t) | Builder | Launched | Commissioned | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuan Wang 1[5] | 191 | 22.6 | 7.5 | 38 | 21,157 | Jiangnan Shipyard | 1977 August 31 | 1978 | Retired |
| Yuan Wang 2[6] | 192 | 22.6 | 7.5 | 38.5 | 21,000 | Jiangnan Shipyard | 1977 | 1978 | Retired |
Yuan Wang 3 is the second generation tracking ship of Yuan Wang series, and it can attain speeds up to 20 kt, with a range of 18,000 nautical miles and a cruising speed of 18 kt.
| Number | Length (m) | Width (m) | Draft (m) | Height (m) | Displacement (t) | Builder | Launched | Commissioned | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuan Wang 3[7] | 180 | 22.2 | 8 | 37.8 | 17,000 | Jiangnan Shipyard | 1994 April | 1995 May | Active |
Yuan Wang 4 was converted from Type 643research vesselXiangyanghong 10 (向阳红10), which was originally designed in February 1971, with construction begun in July 1975, and entered service in October 1979. Conversion was completed in August 1998, and the ship is capable of carrying aChanghe Z-8. Conversion work included more than four hundred projects in four major categories. Powered by 9000 hp diesel engines, Yuan Wang 4 has an endurance of 100 days and could reach a speed of up to 20 kn, with a range of 18,000 nautical miles cruising at 18 kn.
While inJiangyin port at 5:10 AM on 5 August 2007, Yuan Wang 4 was hit by a coal carrier Harbor Sea 666 (Gang Hai 666, 港海 666), which caused a massive fire started at the point of collision at 4th fuel tank. The fire was put out after four hours without any casualties, but the equipment on board was severely damaged beyond repair. As a result, Yuan Wang 4 was subsequently converted to atarget ship forDF-21 ballisticanti-ship missile to simulate an aircraft carrier target as it entered Jiangyin Shipyard on 15 April 2010 for repair, and eventually destroyed in the latter half of 2010.[citation needed]
| Number | Length (m) | Width (m) | Draft (m) | Height (m) | Displacement (t) | Builder | Launched | Commissioned | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuan Wang 4[8] | 152.6 | 20.6 | 7.75 | 39 | 12,700 | Jiangyin Chengxi Shipyard | 1997 July | 1998 August | Destroyed as a target |
Yuan Wang 5 is the third generation tracking ship of Yuan Wang series, and entered service on 29 September 2007. Loaded with electronic tracking gear, the Yuan Wang 5 has been called a "spy ship".[9][10]
Built by Jiangnan Shipyard, Yuan Wang 5 has a displacement of 25,000 tones, and is designed to withstand winds up toBeaufort scale 12, and perform duties insea state 6.[11] It has a carrying capacity of 11,000 tonsDWT and its draught is reported to be 8.2 meters. Itslength overall (LOA) is 222 meters and its width is 25.2 meters.[12] Its home port isJiangyin on theYangtze.[9]
The general designer of both Yuan Wang 5 and 6 was Mr. Huang Wei (黄蔚), the general engineer of the 708th Institute ofChina Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC).[13][14]
Yuan Wang 6, like its sister ship Yuan Wang 5, is also a third generation tracking ship of Yuan Wang series. Designed by the 708th Research Institute, construction begun in April 2006, and the ship was launched on March 16, 2007. The ship entered service on April 12, 2008, and become fully operational in July 2008. Yuan Wang 6 utilizes fiber optic for its information system on board, and the electricity generated by the ship is enough to supply a city of 300,000.[15] Specification:
Yuan Wang 7 was constructed by Jiangnan Shipbuilding, and is said to be able to operate for 100 days at sea. TheChina Satellite Maritime Tracking and Control Department has said the vessel will be used for maritime tracking of theShenzhou 11 crewed space mission, and theTiangong 2 space laboratory, using three large dish antennae some 10–12 meters in diameter. It was commissioned on 19 July 2016.[16]
The Yuan Wang 21 is a cargo ship designed by the 708th Research Institute specially to transport rockets such as theLong March 5; construction began on 1 April 2012, and it was launched on 29 November 2012. Yuan Wang 21 entered service on 6 May 2013. Specification:[17]
Yuan Wang 22 is also a cargo ship designed specially to transport rockets such asLong March 5, and it is also built by Jiangnan Shipyard, the same builder of earlier Yuan Wang 21. Yuan Wang 22 might be a sister ship of Yuan Wang 21, but this cannot be confirmed yet, because detailed information / specification of Yuan Wang 22 has not been released by official Chinese governmental sources yet (as of 2014). Yuan Wang 22 was launched on 24 January 2013.[18]
A list of similar ships:
