PISHAN (PI-SHAN) IMPACT AREA PRC

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NGA Records (Formerly NIMA)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 30, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: October 1, 1979
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/30 :CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2
Top Secret
i~?Rory ~??lyala sport
Pishan (Pi-shan) Impact Area
PRC (TSR)
Top Secret
25X1
IAR-OOYB/79 25X1
OCT09ER 1979
copy 16 7
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/30 :CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/30 :CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/30 :CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/30 :CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2
Top Secret R U F F
PISHAN (PI-BRAN) IMPACT AREA, PRC (TSR)
I. ~~ Pishan (Pi-shan) Impact
Area Figure 1) is in the ex-
treme western part of the People's Republic of
China (PRC), approximately 100 nautical miles
(nm) west-northwest of Hotan (Ho-lien) on the
southwestern edge of the Tarim Basin. Pishan is
the westernmost impact area in the PRC and
provides the longest (approximately 2,238 nm)
in-country missile flight test range. The sophis-
tication of the instrumentation at Pishan is
equal to that at the Kuruktag (Ku-lu-ko-shan
Mountains) Impact Area ,the
most technologically advanced impact area in
Of the four reported missile flight
tests, only one missile reentry vehicle impact
crater has been identified to date. Analysis to
identify additional instrumentation sites and
impact craters is continuing.
2. (TSR) Twu instrumentation sites and
lung-distance radio communications transmitting
and receiving facilities have been identified at the
impact area (Figure 1). One instrumentation site is
approximately 2 nm north and the other is approx-
inu+tely 2 nm south of the main road connecting
Hotan and Yecheng (Yeh-cheng). Vehicle tracks
extend cross country from the instrumentation
sites to this main road. Road transportation be-
tween the two sites is apparently via the main
road. The nearest airfield, Hotan Airfield (BE
is at the town of Hotan. CRATE,
COACH, and CURL aircraft are periodically
observed at the airfield, but their association with
missile test activity at Pishan has not been con-
firmed.
Figure 2) is probably the control site
for the impact area. The instrumentation site con-
sists of one tower-mounted mesh parahnl~c: dish
and two ground-mounted optical tracking domes
aligned along a Darimuth. Each optical
tracker is mounted on a concrete pad, and an
associated building shed is adjacent to the dome.
At least ten other large buildings sheds are scat-
tered behind the line of tracking domes and con-
tain additional unidentified instrumentation. Dur-
ing peaks of activity, numerous small antennas
have been observed deployed atop and between
these large buildings jsheds. The buildings sheds
apparently consist of upright supports with canvas
or corrugated roofs that would provide only mini-
mal shelter for the mobile instrumentation. Per-
sonnel housing is provided by at least 60 tents
scattered throughout the area. Two buried cables
have been identified extending from the area of the
main instrumentation site. One cable extends
north toward the main road and the second ex-
tends south. Vehicle tracks prevented identifica-
tion of the specific buildings associated with the
buried cables within the instrumentation site.
Figure 3) consists of a single
ground-mounted optical tracking dome with an
adjacent building shed, two probable instrumen-
tation buildings sheds, two bunkers, and four
tents. A buried cable extends from the area of the
instrumentation site toward the main road. Vehi-
cle track activity in the immediate area of the site
precluded identification of the specific building
associated with the buried cable.
5. (TSR) Long-distance communication for
the impact area is provided by a rhombic antenna
receiving station (Figure 2) adjacent to the Pishan
Instrumentation Site; one of the Dirge huild-
ings~sheds at the site shelters at least two commu-
nication van trucks. The three rhombic receiving
antennas are oriented un azimuths of
90 degrees.
6. (TSR) `The most likely transmiUing site
for these receiving antennas is the ~~einan (Wei-
,,::^; P;uh~.+bie SSM /Space Tracking facility (Bl~:
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
Top Secret
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/30 :CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/30 :CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2
Top Secret RUFF
JINGYU/PISHAN
LAUNCH
AZIMUTH~~
4510
INSTR SITE PISHAN
XMTR STATION ''~,
is ,
~ ~Zhengzhou
WEtNAN
Wuhan
Nanjmg~
Fuzhou
Harbin
0 10
t 1 1
NAUTICAL MILES
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/30 :CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/30 :CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/30 :CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/30 :CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2
Top Secret RUFF
Transmitting receiving azimuths
between Pishan and Weinan are
Other likely correspondents for the Pishan Impact
urea are the Jingyu Missile Test Complex, with
azimuths of the city of Beijing
(Peking), with azimuths of~ and the
Shuangchengzi (Shuang-cheng-tzu) Missile Test
Range Complex SSM
moths of Communications with
Weinan would allow portions of the space-track-
ing network to be used also for tracking reentry
vehicles. Sole (Su-lo) SSM~Space Tracking Facil-
ity is 142 nm to the northwest
and may also be connected by buried cables to the
Pishan Impact Area.
7. (TSR) The Pishan Radio Communica-
tions Transmitter Station Fig_
ore 4) consists of a single rhombic antenna, ori-
ented on a transmitting azimuth of 90 degrees; a
control building; and a support building. This
transmitting site is oriented on an azimuth similar
to that of the receiving station antennas and prob-
ably also communicates with the Weinan Probable
SSM~Space Tracking Facility.
8. (TSR) Possible point-to-point very-high-
frequency (VHF) communications antennas (Fig-
ures 2 and 3) at both instrumentation sites appear
to be MERCURY GRASS-type antennas. At
Pishan Instrumentation Site, two pairs of these
antennas are deployed atop tall masts, near the
four corners of one of the large buildings/sheds.
The presence of these antennas suggests the exis-
tence of other instrumentation sites. Pishan Instru-
mentation Site 2 contains a single MERCURY
GRASS-type mast, deployed adjacent to the larg-
est bunker.
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
9. (TSR) Mensuration-derived coordinates 25X1
for the only impact crater identified to date (Fig-
ure 5) are 37-37-45N 077-47-30E. The crater, ~ 25X1
meters in diameter by ~~deep, is similar in 25X1
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/30 :CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/30 :CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/30 :CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/30 :CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2
Top Secret R U F F
sire to craters identified previously at other impact
areas. The crater is approximately midway be-
tween the two instrumentation sites and approxi-
mately 5 nm south of the main road. Haze, affect-
ing the interpretability of the imagery, precluded a
determination of whether other impact craters
were in the immediate vicinity. Analysis to identify
any other craters within the impact area is contin-
uing.
10. (TSR) Monitoring of the instrumenta-
tion sites to date has revealed only the most gen-
eral indicators of launch-related activity. Pishan
Instrumentation Site, the only site with a history
of photographic coverage,
(TSR) All applicable KEYHOLE imagery acquired through
preparation of this report.
DEFSMAC. 1600252 Sep 7R, CSS-.~ Launched %rorn Ching}'u, I S September (SECRET)
DoD. Cable 2611302_ Dec 78 (SECRET)
Dt?FSMAC. 0423372 Jan 79, CSS-3 lCBM Launched Jri~rn ChirrRi~u, ~1 Decemher 197n IS) (I'OP SECRt~:"t~
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
RF:(1l~IREMENT
Nruject 130129NS
(S) Comments and queries regarding this report are welcome. They may be directed to
Forces Division, Imagery Exploitation Group,
Top Secret
~~~~~~~ 25X1
25X1
ian-o~~?~/~y 25X1
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/30 :CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/30 :CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2
Top Secret
Top Secret
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/30 :CIA-RDP80T00250A000100480001-2