China's first sounding rocket and first indigenously-built sounding rocket, launched from 1960-1965. The basic vehicle consisted of a single liquid propellant stage. This was later augmented with solid propellant booster stages. Later versions dispensed with the liquid propellant stage.
The Shanghai Institute for Electromechanical Design began development of China's first sounding rocket, the T-7, in October 1959. The first step was production and test of the T-7M subscale prototype. Under the leadership of Wang Xi Ji , China's first sounding rocket launch was completed at the seaside site of Laoqong, near Shanghai. The launch site consisted of a sandbag bunker and a 50 kW generator for power. Communications between the launch bunker and the outlying pad and tracking sites was by hand signal or relayed shouting. Tracking was done by manually-operated homing antennae. Bicycle pumps were used to fuel the rocket. The first successful launch of the liquid-fuelled T-7M to an altitude of 8.0 km came on February 19, 1960. On May 28, 1960, Mao Zedong, Yang Shangkun and other leaders visited a showroom of leading edge products at the Shanghai New Technology Exposition. As they stopped at the model of the T-7M, the interpreter related that the success had been achieved without the help of Soviet experts, and that the developers were all younger than 25. Chairman Mao was impressed and said the development team should push on to 200 kilometres or higher. In December 1960 the T-7M reached 9.8 kilometres supplemented by solid boosters.
In March 1960 work began on a launch pad for the full-scale T-7 in a mountainous area of Guangde in southern Anhui Province. The launch site was jointly funded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' (CAS) Institute of Geophysics and the Shanghai Institute for Electromechanical Design. The full-scale T-7 rocket consisted of a liquid-propellant unguided core rocket surrounded by solid fuel boosters. It was 10 m long, 0.45 m in diameter and had a total mass of 1,138 kg. It was designed to loft a payload of 25 kilograms to an altitude of 60 kilometres. The first successful launch came on September 13, 1960. After several further tests, not all successful, it reached its design altitude in a flight to 58 kilometres on November 23, 1961. In May 1961, the Science and Technology Commission for National Defence ordered CAS to characterise atmospheric temperature, pressure, density and winds up to an altitude of 100 kilometres. The basic T-7 model could conduct such surveys up to 58 km. From 1960 to 1965, a total of 24 T-7's were launched in nine flight series. This included nine launches with the required meteorological payloads from August 4, 1963.
The T-7 telemetry system was developed by the CAS Institute of Automation (then called the First Design Institute) and the tracking system by the CAS Institute of Geophysics (Second Design Institute). From 1959 to 1965 Institute of Geophysics built the test facilities required to qualify the components for flight. These included vibration and impact platforms, high altitude pressure chambers, a high-decibel acoustic lab, a 6 m diameter centrifuge, and an ultra-vacuum 2 m diameter space simulator.
Model: T-7A. Other Designations: Peace-1.
Boosted version of China's first indigenously-built sounding rocket. Included solid propellant booster. The upper stage and payload were recovered by parachute and reused. Launches began in 1965. Consisted of a solid propellant booster mated to the basic liquid propellant T-7. Flown from 1965 to the end of the 1960's.
In May 1961, the Science and Technology Commission for National Defence ordered CAS to characterise atmospheric temperature, pressure, density and winds up to an altitude of 100 kilometres. The basic T-7 model could conduct such surveys up to 58 km. In order to cover the higher alititudes, in January 1962 design of an improved T-7A model was authorised. This design requirement was to take a payload of 40 kilograms to 115 kg altitude. Both the separable payload section and the rocket were designed to be recovered by parachute and reused. This would allow biological, radiation sniffing, and geophysical experiments to be carried.
In January 1963, the Shanghai Institute of Electro-mechanical Design was subordinated to put under the administration of the Qian's Fifth Academy of the Defence Ministry. This may have been a power play, or may have been related to the pending use of the rockets to recover high-altitude samples in support of Chinese atmospheric nuclear tests. The first launch of the T-7A in December 1963 resulted in successful retrieval of the rocket and payload.
The Peace-1 geophysics payload, co-developed in 1959 by the Fifth Academy and CAS, led to a successful survey of electron density in the ionosphere aboard the T-7A. The general design and development of the system was by the CAS Institute of Geophysics. In 1965 the Fifth Academy was redesignated the Seventh Ministry of the Machine-building Industry and the former Shanghai Institute for Electro-mechanical Design became the Eighth Institute of that Ministry. In December 1965, under the joint sponsorship of the Eighth Institute and the CAS Institute of Geophysics, data was acquired regarding the equivalent electron density of the rocket exhaust plume up to 90 kilometres in altitude. In another test, a special Geiger counter for the measurement of high-altitude cosmic rays returned superb results. Based on the Doppler effect, a system of ionospheric measurement was designed. This work provided a solid foundation for tracking satellites in flight and the determination of their orbit parameters.
In 1963, the CAS Institute of Biophysics proposed the use of the T-7A for biological and high altitude medical research. In the following three years, a total of five launches were made, carrying white rats and mice, dogs, and test tubes containing fruit flies, toad eggs, actinomycete, and phycomycete and other fungi. On August 10, 1964, the Fifth Academy under the Ministry of National Defence sent a congratulatory letter to the CAS and its Institutes of Biophysics and Geophysics following the first flights.
The series culminated in a series of three T-7A rockets launched from Anhui during June 1965. The first carried a white rat, a white mouse, fruit flies, and other specimens. The second carried the male dog Xiao Bao and four white mice. The third carried the bitch Shanshan. All were successfully recovered. Film cameras recorded their behaviour under high G and zero-G conditions.
Given conditions in the country at the time, improvisation was necessary in devising the instrumentation. The behaviour of the specimens during the flight was filmed using a lightweight,, large-magazine camera. Ju Lang using the mechanism of an 8 mm Czech consumer model, loaded with Japanese 16 mm film, split by hand. Since the project was secret, the film was developed in a homemade developing machine. The film was released as part of a television documentary in the 1980's and proved a big hit with Chinese audiences.
The puppy passengers had to be no more than 6 kg in weight, with the proper disposition so as not to become frantic when confined in a closed space. The final selections came out of a pool of 30 experimental dogs. Through constant training and screening, the pool of 30 was reduced to six after five evaluations, and then finally to two. The puppies were trained gradually to accept confinement, spacesuits, noise, vibration, and physiological sensors. The biological sensors were surgically implanted prior to the launch.
Prior to the launch the militia in the adjacent countryside was alerted to report any sightings of parachute landings and to keep curious locals from opening the capsules. The first recovery took so long (approach had to the landing site had to be on foot) that the scientists feared for the health of the specimens. When the team finally reached the capsule, the cameraman set up his camera, loaded with exotic colour film, available only from East Germany. Then the capsule was opened and Xiao Bao jumped out of the hatch. The unrestrained mouse followed him. The Air Force agreed to provide a recovery helicopter for future biological capsule recoveries.
The successful test series culminated in the delivery of the male and female puppies and mice to the Institute of Biophysics. They dogs were later mated and produce healthy puppies.
Launches: 3. First Launch Date: 1963-12-01. Last Launch Date: 1969-07-01. Payload: 170 kg (370 lb). to a: 60 km altitude or 40 kg to 115 km suborbital trajectory. Apogee: 115 km (71 mi). Liftoff Thrust: 46.000 kN (10,341 lbf). Total Mass: 1,300 kg (2,800 lb). Core Diameter: 0.45 m (1.47 ft). Total Length: 10.00 m (32.00 ft).
- Stage0: 1 x T-7A-S2-0. Gross Mass: 1,000 kg (2,200 lb). Motor: 1 x T-7 booster. Length: 1.00 m (3.20 ft). Diameter: 0.45 m (1.47 ft). Propellants: Solid.
- Stage1: 1 x T-7/GF-01A-1. Gross Mass: 1,000 kg (2,200 lb). Motor: 1 x T-7 LRE. Length: 6.00 m (19.60 ft). Diameter: 0.45 m (1.47 ft). Propellants: Solid.
Two-stage solid propellant sounding rocket. Evidently used two of the first stage motors developed for the T-7A in tandem. Replaced the T-7 from 1970 on. Used for routine measurement of the upper atmosphere.
