Long March, expendable launch systems, China

[Airicist2]

Long March-3B launches Smart SkyNet-1 01 (A/B)

May 9, 2024

A Long March-3B launch vehicle launched the Smart SkyNet-1 01 (A/B) mission [智慧天网一号01星（A/B)] from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan Province, southwest China, on 9 May 2024, at 01:43 UTC (09:43 local time). According to official sources, Smart SkyNet-1 01 is “China’s first medium-orbit broadband communication satellite”, part of the “Smart Skynet” (智慧天网) network of 8 satellites deployed into 20000 km altitude orbits.

[Airicist2]

Long March-4C launches Shiyan-23

May 12, 2024

A Long March-4C launch vehicle launched the Shiyan-23 satellite (试验二十三号卫星, “Experiment 23”) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Gansu Province, China, on 11 May 2024, at 23:43 UTC (12 May, at 07:43 local time). According to official sources, the satellite has successfully entered the planned orbit and “will mainly be used for space environment monitoring”.

[Airicist2]

Long March-2D launches four Beijing-3C satellites

May 20, 2024

A Long March-2D launch vehicle launched four Beijing-3C satellites (BJ-3C) from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, Shanxi Province, China, on 20 May 2024, at 03:06 UTC (11:06 local time). The Beijing-3C constellation (北京三号C星星座), designed and manufactured by DFH Satellite Co., Ltd, part of Twenty First Century Aerospace Technology Pte. Ltd, includes four optical remote sensing satellites that can “achieve 0.5 m resolution colour and 2 m multispectral at an orbital altitude of 500km”. According to official sources, the satellites entered the predetermined orbits and will be used for “land and resources management, survey of agricultural resources, ecological environment monitoring and urban applications”.