Kryten

*cough*

That would make sense, but there are recent russian sats (e.g. Express) that have required direct injection to GSO. Perhaps they'd want to fly the more demanding GSO profile for the test.

Mass simulator, to either GSO or GTO.

Hayabusa did have a dedicated landing probe called Minerva; it was much smaller than Philae, but could move about using a 'hopping' mechanism. At least, that was the plan-due to a computing glitch, it was released while Hayabusa was adjusting it's orbit, and missed Itokawa completely.

The escape velocity and landing speed figures I can find are the same (1m/s), so it would depend on the margins of error on both of those and how 'bouncy' the surface is. Without a way to correct it's attitude, it would make little difference either way.

The actual CAST Mars rover model at Zuhai can be seen in video. As I suspected, it doesn't look like the one in the OP.

http://www.jyds.gov.cn/show.aspx?id=50824&bigclassid Production of metal rings with a diameter of 8.7m for a new rocket; not explicitly stated, but in the size proposed for CZ-9 and far above anything else. It depends on the configuration chosen, everything so far is provisional; but that seems to be the rough target.

LM-11 is an all-solid LV in the same class as Minotaur, you'd expect it to be very quick. All three configurations were officially under consideration, but there's little experience in China with large solids, so that's much less likely than the other two. All configurations share the same tank diameter, so even with this they may not have decided yet.

I'm pretty sure it's about the Dunning-Kruger effect. Very informative.

It's a test for resupply and multiple docking ports, we've known that for years. Are we sure this is actually T-2 and not Tianzhou?

Making plasma is already very easy. You know plasma TVs, or those plasma globes? They aren't just marketing terms.

I highly doubt any algae could provide all essentials elements of somebody's diet, even a GM one.

How would a single base be the 'united states of' anything?

Heat and light? From a neutron star?

I doubt 'complex organic molecules' would mean very much even if we found them. It's got all the right conditions for natural tholin production.

That example would only if we could make working Vulcains and Aestus' weighing less than a gram. Good luck getting any liquid motor working at that scale, nevermind a high-performance one.

Uncrewed with rover. Orbital mission is going to go beforehand, but we don't know if that's to be 2016 or 2018; they're to present a 'Mars craft' at the Zuhai airshow, so I'm pretty sure we'll get a date then.

Already been done with extremely efficient jet (Globalflyer), albeit not at the equator.

Explosive charges on the domes of the oxidiser and fuel tanks.

It's the exact same technology as used in the RD-170 and it's descendants, and they're perfectly reliable. The test stand failure that we do have a proper failure report for was caused by age-related cracks.

Given they're proposing retiring the engine, they seem pretty certain of an actual turbopump issue. The likely replacements would have exactly the same reaction to foreign objects as NK-33.

SpaceX and Energomash have both had it happen. There are plenty of flaws that'll reduce an engines lifetime rather than flat-out destroy it; in these cases, tests make the situation worse.

Two AJ-26s did go kaboom during test burns, as did at least two of the NK-33A's done for the 2.1v.

Obviously the missing ingredient is red mercury.

Plenty of fish and lizards give live birth, and you won't find nipples on any of those. Conversely, Monotremes produce milk (even if they don't quite have true nipples) but lay eggs.