Aftermath of Super-Typhoon Yagi to Wenchang
Super-Typhoon Yagi travelled along the north-east of Hainan, with parts of the storm hitting the launch sites at Wenchang.
Readers from last week will recall that the then Tropical Storm Yagi had the possibility of striking the two launch sites at Wenchang. The tropical storm grew into a super-typhoon and hit Hainan, China’s southernmost province, on September 6th and passed along the northeast of the island province.
As Yagi has moved through the South China Sea and the surrounding regions, the storm has displaced over 1.2 million people with almost 100* having tragically died. Yagi is just a story we read about for you and I, but we must keep in mind those lost and effected by these storms.
Now for what you came here to read, how did the Wenchang Space Launch Site and the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site fare against the super-typhoon?
The worst the two launch sites faced was the southern side of the typhoon’s eyewall along with wind speeds of approximately 150 miles per hour. These winds were enough to damage the outside of the launch vehicle production and assembly buildings.
Damage caused by the storm is currently believed to have mostly been to the outside of launch support, production, and assembly buildings. With the internal damage caused by water that came in through the missing external walls.
A Long March 12 was moved into the commercial launch site's horizontal integration building ahead of the storm making landfall. The launch vehicle is supposedly in good condition, with no visible damage.
Video of the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site from CCTV, shared via kelvin61942434 on X (Twitter).
The launch towers at Wenchang withstood the force of the storm’s winds, with the service platforms having been opened in advance to reduce structural stress loads. However, teams at the launch site still need to inspect various launch pad systems, such as propellant fuelling lines, hydraulics for the many commodity ‘arms’ and transporter erector, electronics, and the sound suppression deluge system.
The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology also shared that the Long March 8 Y5 vehicle was at the Wenchang Commerical Space Launch Site during the super-typhoon. Teams convened for emergency ‘typhoon prevention meetings’ on September 2nd and decided to halt pre-launch testing on the 3rd to ensure enough time was available to protect the vehicle.
Work on protecting the vehicle began on the morning of the 4th with it being concluded in the afternoon of September 5th. The Long March 8’s team, and others, took shelter inside secure parts of the assembly building away from doors, windows, and the launch vehicle. All 198 people taking shelter inside remained safe, according to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.
Like the Long March 12, the Long March 8 Y5 reportedly had no damage from the storm. But damage to other parts of the launch site may delay the launches of both vehicles by a few weeks.
Outside of the launch sites around the effected parts of Hainan province, extensive reconstruction work is underway to restore regular communication, power, water, and transportation services. The People’s Liberation Army, China’s armed forces, has also been mobilized to assist in recovery, reconstruction, and search and rescue efforts.
*almost 100 at the time of writing, 9th of September. I dislike using Wikipedia as a source, but because Super-Typhoon Yagi occurred recently, it has a more accurate total number of people killed by the typhoon.
Thank you to Echo for providing me with regular updates on Yagi as it moved through Hainan.