On the day of 0745 Hong Kong SAR- Beijing Time 16 October 2024 CNSA –China National Space Administration , China, People’s Republic of China At 0745 Hong Kong SAR- Beijing Time , the Chang Zheng -Long March 4BYao 59 carrier rocket successfully launched China’s first reusable recoverable technology test satellite.. From The the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Inner Mongolia, China, People’s Republic of China.. at the 9401 workstation of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest inland China, the Long March 4B Yao 59 carrier rocket carrying the Gaofen 12 05 remote sensing satellite was vertically launched into space, sending the satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).
The satellite and carrier rocket for this mission were developed by the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The Gaofen-12 05 satellite is a large-scale high-resolution remote sensing satellite, which is mainly used in land survey, urban planning, land rights confirmation, road network design, crop yield estimation and disaster prevention and mitigation
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The Long March 4C is a medium-sized normal-temperature liquid carrier rocket with a three-stage tandem configuration. The main power is all nitrogen tetroxide/undimethylhydrazine propellant. The Long March 4C rocket is mainly used for sun-synchronous orbit and low-Earth orbit satellite launch missions. The rocket is 48 meters high, with a diameter of 3.35 meters for the first and second stages, a diameter of 2.9 meters for the third stage, a takeoff mass of 250 tons, and a capacity of 3 tons for a circular sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at an altitude of 700 kilometers. The Long March 4C is the first and only model among China’s normal-temperature liquid rockets equipped with a secondary start-type final stage main engine, and has the ability to launch into high orbit and deep space.
The Long March 4B successfully completed its maiden flight on April 27, 2006. So far, it has carried out 55 launches, 53 of which were successful, with a success rate of about 96%. This launch is 157 days away from the 54th launch of the Long March 4B, which will be carried out on the morning of May 12, 2024.
This launch mission is the second launch of the “Long March 4C” rocket in 2024, the 14th launch of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the 49th launch in China and the 189th orbital space launch in the world.
Images and visuals are from their Respectives CMS China Manned SpaceCNSA-China National Space Administration
