38°50′57″N 111°36′29″E / 38.8491°N 111.608°E
 Long March 6 on Launch Pad 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Location | Kelan, Xinzhou, Shanxi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Coordinates | 38°50′56.71″N 111°36′30.59″E / 38.8490861°N 111.6084972°E | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Short name | TSLC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator | CASC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total launches | 131[a] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Launch pad(s) | Five (Four active and One Retired) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Launch history | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Active | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC)[1] also known as Base 25 (Chinese: 二十五基地), is a People's Republic of China space and defense launch facility (spaceport). It is situated in Kelan County, Xinzhou, Shanxi Province and is the second of four launch sites having been founded in March 1966 and coming into full operation in 1968.
The facility was built as part of China's Third Front campaign to develop basic industry and national security in China's rugged interior in case of invasion by the Soviet Union or the United States.[2]
Taiyuan sits at an altitude of 1500 meters and its dry climate makes it an ideal launch site. The site is primarily used to launch meteorological satellites, Earth resource satellites and scientific satellites on Long March launch vehicles into Sun-synchronous orbits. TSLC is also a major launch site for intercontinental ballistic missiles and overland submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) tests.
The site has a sophisticated Technical Center and Mission Command and Control Center. It is served by two feeder railways that connect with the Ningwu–Kelan railway.[1]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ a b "Taiyuan". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
- ^ Meyskens, Covell F. (2020). Mao's Third Front: The Militarization of Cold War China. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. pp. 4, 218. doi:10.1017/9781108784788. ISBN 978-1-108-78478-8. OCLC 1145096137. S2CID 218936313.