China’s Long March 2D rocket launches 8 satellites
China today used its Long March 2D rocket to place eight Earth observation satellites into orbit as part of a larger constellation.
The Jilin-1 constellation, now consisting of 50 Earth observation satellites since its first launch in 2015, is China’s first-ever commercial remote-sensing satellite system. The system is operated by Chang Guang Satellite Technology Corporation, also known as Charming Globe, a commercial spinoff of the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics, and Physics in the northeast Chinese city of Changchun.
The constellation is planned to consist of 138 satellites by 2025, and the satellites will be orbiting at 535 km altitude above Earth. The constellation, featuring types of satellites with different capabilities, will ultimately be capable of revisiting any point on Earth every ten minutes, with an interim thirty-minute capability being achieved with sixty satellites in orbit.
China claims the data from this constellation will be for commercial use. Don’t be surprised however if its primary customer turns out to be China’s military.
As the rocket launched from one of China’s interior spaceports, its first stage crash landed in China. No word on whether it used parachutes or grid fins to control that landing.
The leaders in the 2022 launch race:
17 SpaceX
14 China
6 Russia
3 Rocket Lab
2 ULA
The U.S. still leads China 25 to 14 in the national rankings, with the U.S. leading all other nations combined 25 to 23.
China today used its Long March 2D rocket to place eight Earth observation satellites into orbit as part of a larger constellation.
The Jilin-1 constellation, now consisting of 50 Earth observation satellites since its first launch in 2015, is China’s first-ever commercial remote-sensing satellite system. The system is operated by Chang Guang Satellite Technology Corporation, also known as Charming Globe, a commercial spinoff of the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics, and Physics in the northeast Chinese city of Changchun.
The constellation is planned to consist of 138 satellites by 2025, and the satellites will be orbiting at 535 km altitude above Earth. The constellation, featuring types of satellites with different capabilities, will ultimately be capable of revisiting any point on Earth every ten minutes, with an interim thirty-minute capability being achieved with sixty satellites in orbit.
China claims the data from this constellation will be for commercial use. Don’t be surprised however if its primary customer turns out to be China’s military.
As the rocket launched from one of China’s interior spaceports, its first stage crash landed in China. No word on whether it used parachutes or grid fins to control that landing.
The leaders in the 2022 launch race:
17 SpaceX
14 China
6 Russia
3 Rocket Lab
2 ULA
The U.S. still leads China 25 to 14 in the national rankings, with the U.S. leading all other nations combined 25 to 23.