China space programme hit by coronavirus outbreak as rocket work stops
- Rocket’s testing team in lockdown after Covid-19 positive travellers visit area in northwest of the country
- Infections have been detected across the country, from Xian to Beijing
Expace Technology, a subsidiary of the state-owned China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation, said rvery member of the testing team for the Kuaizhou 1A orbital launch rocket had been placed in an “emergency state of semi-lockdown”.
“According to regulations from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre and the local government, work related to the fifth Kuaizhou 1A rocket has been suspended,” the company said on its WeChat social media account on Tuesday.
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The team is based at Jiuquan in the northwestern province of Gansu, where Covid-19 cases were reported after a visit by travellers who tested positive for the virus.
A day earlier, 17 locally acquired symptomatic cases were identified, most of them in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and neighbouring Gansu province, the National Health Commission said on Wednesday.
Four asymptomatic community cases were also reported in Gansu and Yunnan province. They will not be added to the official tally unless they develop symptoms.
Hotels have been arranged for the Kuaizhou 1A testing team, with specified meal times to prevent them coming into contact with the public. Volunteers from the team have also organised mass testing and temperature checks.
Expace, which operates and develops rockets, was established to grow China’s commercial aerospace industry. The Kuaizhou 1A, a small solid-fuelled carrier rocket, has already launched several Earth observation satellites.
