中国的First Ocean Salinity Detection Satellite was successfully launched
At 1241 Hours Hong Kong SAR- Beijing Time 14th December 2024 , China- People’s Republic of China- CNSA –China National Space Administration Successfully launched Chang Zheng – Long March 6 Carrier Rocket ignited and took off at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center Shanxi Province..
[The third launch of the Long March 6-modified Qianfan rocket was a success!]
At 12:41 on December 5, the Long March 6-modified carrier rocket soared into the sky at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, and then sent the Qianfan polar orbit 03 satellite group into the predetermined orbit, and the launch mission was a complete success.
The Long March 6-modified rocket was developed by the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. It is a new generation of non-toxic and pollution-free carrier rocket, and it is also China’s first solid-liquid bundled medium-sized carrier rocket. The carrying capacity of the 700-kilometer altitude sun-synchronous orbit is greater than 4.5 tons.
During this mission, the Long March 6-modified rocket encountered the coldest weather since its first flight. A few days before the launch, the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center welcomed the first snow of this winter, and the lowest temperature once dropped to minus 26 degrees Celsius. In response to this, the test team worked closely with the launch site to add insulation measures to the tower and increase the air supply temperature of the air conditioner; by adopting the zero-second detachment technology of the rocket air conditioner connector, the rocket and the satellite in the fairing can “enjoy the warm air of the air conditioner” until the last moment before takeoff, providing better protection for the satellite environment. In addition, the rocket test team and the launch site carefully selected the relatively high temperature at noon to transfer and launch the rocket to ensure that all work was fool proof.
The Chang Zheng – Long March 6 modified rocket continued to use a stacked layout to implement the “one rocket, 18 satellites” launch mission. The launch of the Qianfan Polar Orbit 03 satellite group was provided by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Great Wall Company as the general contractor. The Qianfan Polar Orbit 03 satellite group includes 18 low-orbit broadband Internet satellites. It is the third batch of satellites of the first generation of Qianfan constellation satellites of Shanghai Yuanxin Satellite Technology Co., Ltd. The first three batches of Qianfan satellites were successfully launched by the ChangZheng – Long March 6 modified Carrier rocket….
“Long March 6A” is a medium-sized solid-liquid bundled carrier rocket developed by the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. It adopts a two-and-a-half-stage series-parallel structure. The core stage and the core stage are connected in series, and the core stage is clustered with four boosters. The main power of the core stage is a liquid oxygen-kerosene engine, and the boosters use solid propellant engines.
The whole “Long March 6A” rocket is about 50 meters high (with a standard fairing of 4.2 meters in diameter), the core stage diameter is 3.35 meters, the booster diameter is 2 meters, and the diameter of the fairing is optional. The diameter is 3.35 meters, 3.8 meters, 4.2 meters and 5.2 meters. The takeoff mass is about 530 tons, the takeoff thrust is about 734 tons, and the arrow has a carrying capacity of about 5 tons in a 700-kilometer circular sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). At present, the arrow has further improved its carrying capacity by replacing the YF115B engine that can be restarted twice for the second stage.
During this mission, the Long March 6A rocket encountered the coldest weather since its maiden flight. A few days before the launch, the lowest temperature at the Taiyuan launch site dropped to minus 26 degrees Celsius. In response, the test team and the launch site added insulation measures to the tower and raised the air supply temperature of the air conditioner; by adopting the zero-second detachment technology of the rocket air conditioner connector during takeoff, better protection was provided for the rocket and the satellite in the fairing. In addition, the rocket test team and the launch site also chose the relatively high temperature at noon to transfer and launch the rocket.
On October 15, 2024, the Long March 6A Yao 20 rocket carried out the launch mission of the 18 satellites of the Thousand Sails polar orbit 02 group, 51 days after this launch mission. At present, the Long March 6A carrier rocket has entered the high-density launch phase, and the model continues to optimize the personnel configuration, ground equipment recovery, test operation procedures, etc., to further shorten the launch interval to meet the future intensive launch needs.
The “Qianfan” constellation is the G60 Global Multimedia Satellite (GMS) constellation, a giant low-orbit Internet satellite constellation launched and operated by Shanghai Yuanxin Satellite Technology Co., Ltd. The satellites are designed and manufactured by Shanghai Gesi Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd. The constellation aims to provide space-based broadband Internet services covering the world. The first phase of the constellation plans to launch 108 satellites in 2024, and then launch 1,296 satellites before 2027, and ultimately plans to launch more than 12,000 satellites.
The “Qianfan” polar orbit 03 group is the first generation of satellites in the “Qianfan” constellation and the third batch of networking satellites. So far, the number of satellites launched into space in the “Qianfan” constellation has reached 54. This batch of satellites uses the stackable flat-panel satellite platform independently developed by Gess Aerospace. In December 2023, Gess Aerospace’s G60 satellite digital factory was officially put into production and the first batch of satellites were rolled off the production line. In the future, it will be able to achieve a production capacity of about 1 satellite per day, with an annual output of about 300 satellites. The “Qianfan” constellation is China’s first giant low-orbit constellation to enter large-scale continuous networking launches.
Images and visuals are from their Respectives CMS China Manned SpaceCNSA-China National Space Administration
