Google Unmasks Xichang - ASAT Pad Visible?

On Feb 27, 8:00 pm, "Ed Kyle" wrote:
On Feb 27, 1:10 pm, "Jim Oberg" wrote:

Nice work, Ed.

Thanks! Now, do me a favor, Jim and everyone else, and peer through
this cloud. I think this may actually be the destination of the new
roadway (and the reason I say roadway rather than railway now is due
to the tight 200 foot-ish radius curves on the upgrade).

28.199903 N, 101.963189 E

What destination could such a one-way road, requiring such an
obviously massive effort, have? It is about 8 km south of the
existing pad complexes. Could it be a new launch pad? A tracking
radar? An observatory? Why build whatever this is here, in the
mountains, rather than at the northern desert sites where construction
would be cheaper?

- Ed Kyle

I notice that there is a growing pile of gravel building up at
this location. There is a possibility, I must admit, that this
could be the portal to a really long tunnel beneath the
mountains, leading west.

- Ed Kyle

Ed Kyle wrote:

What destination could such a one-way road, requiring such an
obviously massive effort, have?


Their new rockets:
http://english.people.com.cn/200510/...18_215027.html
http://english.people.com.cn/200510/...18_215027.html
http://www.astronautix.com/articles/china.htm
They intend to build large boosters in the Proton/Ariane 5 category
within the next few years for both manned and commercial missions.
They're going to need a place to lift off from.
This is that place.

Pat