Long March, expendable launch systems, China

[Administrator]

Long March-11A and more sea launches for Long March-11

Jan 20, 2021

Long March-11 is a solid-propellant launch vehicle developed by China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). According to Li Tongyu, Chief Commander of Long March-11, the new version Long March-11A “will have a diameter of 2.65 metres, with its payload capacity at the low-Earth orbit reaching 1.5 to 2 tons.”

 

[Administrator]

Long March-4C launches Yaogan-31 02 satellites

Jan 29, 2021

A Long March-4C launch vehicle launched the second group of Yaogan-31 remote-sensing satellites from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Gansu Province, northwest China, on 29 January 2021, at 04:47 UTC (12:47 local time). According to official sources, the Yaogan-31 02 (遥感三十一号02) satellites will be used for scientific experiments, land and resources surveys, agricultural production estimation, disaster prevention and mitigation.

 

[Administrator]

Long March-4C launches Yaogan-31 03

Feb 24, 2021

A Long March-4C launch vehicle launched the third group of Yaogan-31 remote-sensing satellites from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Gansu Province, northwest China, on 24 February 2021, at 02:22 UTC (10:22 local time). According to official sources, the Yaogan-31 03 (遥感三十一号03) satellites will be used for scientific experiments, land and resources surveys, agricultural production estimation, disaster prevention and mitigation.
Credit: China Central Television/China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

 

[Administrator]

Long March-9 to be developed in the next five years

Feb 28, 2021

Long March-9, China’s super heavy-lift launch vehicle, is scheduled to be developed in the next five years, according to Luan Enjie, the first chief commander of the China lunar exploration program. Long March-9 will be designed with a payload capability of 100 tons.
Credit: China Central Television

 

[Administrator]

Long March-7A launches Shiyan-9

Mar 12, 2021

The first successful flight of a Long March-7A launch vehicle launched the Shiyan-9 satellite from the Wenchang Space Launch Center Hainan Province, China, on 11 March 2021, at 17:51 UTC (12 March, at 01:51 China Standard Time). According to official sources Shiyan-9 (试验九号) “will be mainly used for in-orbit tests of new technologies including space environment monitoring.”

 

[Administrator]

Long March-4C launches Yaogan-31 04

Mar 13, 2021

A Long March-4C launch vehicle launched the fourth group of Yaogan-31 remote-sensing satellites from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Gansu Province, northwest China, on 13 March 2021, at 02:19 UTC (10:19 local time). According to official sources, the Yaogan-31 04 (遥感三十一号04) satellites will be used for scientific experiments, land and resources surveys, agricultural production estimation, disaster prevention and mitigation.

 

[Administrator]

Long March-4C launches Gaofen-12-02

Mar 31, 2021

A Long March-4C launch vehicle launched the Gaofen-12 Earth observation satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Gansu Province, northwest China, on 30 March 2021, at 22:45 UTC (31 March, 06:45 local time). Gaofen-12-02 (高分十二号02) is a microwave remote sensing satellite capable of providing photographs with a resolution of better than a meter. According to official sources, "Gaofen-12-02 will be mainly used in land surveys, urban planning, determining and registering land rights, road network design, crop yield estimates, and disaster prevention and relief."

 

[Administrator]

Long March-4B launches Shiyan-6 03

Apr 9, 2021

A Long March-4B rocket launched the Shiyan-6 03 satellite from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, Shanxi Province, China, on 8 April 2021, at 23:01 UTC (9 April, 07:01 China Standard Time). According to official sources, the third satellite of the Shiyan-6 series will be used to carry out space environment survey and experiments on related technologies.

 

[Administrator]

Long March-6 launches 9 satellites

Apr 27, 2021

A Long March-6 launch vehicle launched 9 satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, Shanxi Province, northern China, on 27 April 2021, at 03:20 UTC (11:20 local time). The main payload consisted of the satellites Qilu-1 (齐鲁一号), Qilu-4 (齐鲁四号) and Foshan-1 (佛山一号), along with HS-1 (Zhong'an Guotong-1, 中安国通一号), Tianqi-9 (天启星座09, part of the Tianqi constellation/Apocalypse Constellation), Origin Space Neo-1 (起源太空NEO-1), Taijing-2 01 (Tai Kink II 01, 泰景二号01), Golden Bauhinia N1-01 and Golden Bauhinia N1-02.

 

[Administrator]

Long March-5B Y2 launches the Tianhe Core Module

Apr 29, 2021

The Long March-5B Y2 launch vehicle launched the Tianhe Core Module, the first component of the China Space Station, from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, Hainan Province, China, on 29 April 2021, at 03:23 UTC (11:23). The Tianhe Core Module (天和核心舱) is the first component of the China Space Station (中国空间站), China’s new space station intended for long-term habitation.
Credit: China Central Television (CCTV)/China National Space Administration (CNSA).
Tianhe launch
Tianhe-1 launch
Tianhe Core Module launch
China Space Station launch

 

[Administrator]

Article "Huge rocket looks set for uncontrolled reentry following Chinese space station launch"

by Andrew Jones
April 30, 2021

 

[Administrator]

Long March-2C launches Yaogan-30-08 and Tianqi-12

May 7, 2021

A Long March-2C launch vehicle launched a new group of three Yaogan-30 remote sensing satellites from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan Province, southwest China, on 6 May 2021, at 18:11 UTC (7 May, 02:11 local time). The satellites (遥感三十号08) will work as part of a constellation for electromagnetic environment detection and related technological tests. According to official sources, the satellites have entered the planned orbits. The rocket also launched the Tianqi-12 (天启星座12, part of the Tianqi/Apocalypse Constellation)
Credit: China Central Television (CCTV)

 

[Administrator]

Long March-4B launches HaiYang-2D

May 19, 2021

A Long March-4B launch vehicle launched the HaiYang-2D remote-sensing satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Gansu Province, northwest China, on 19 May 2021, at 04:03 UTC (12:03 local time). HaiYang-2D is China’s sixth remote-sensing satellite for ocean observation. Along with HaiYang-1C, HaiYang-1D and HaiYang-2C, HaiYang-2D (海洋二号D, HY-2D) will help monitor ocean color and water temperatures, providing basic data for research on the global oceanic environment.
Credit: China Central Television (CCTV)

 

[Administrator]

Long March-3B launches FengYun-4B

Jun 2, 2021

A Long March-3B launch vehicle launched the FengYun-4B (FY-4B) meteorological satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan Province, southwest China, on 2 June 2021, at 16:17 UTC (3 June, at 00:17 China Standard Time). According to official sources, the satellite has successfully entered the desired orbit. FY-4B (风云四号B) is the eighth FY meteorological satellite, the second FY-4 geostationary meteorological satellite and the most advanced of the series.

 

[Administrator]

Long March-2D launches Beijing-3 and 3 other satellites

Jun 11, 2021

A Long March-2D launch vehicle launched the Beijing-3 satellite from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, Shanxi Province, northern China, on 11 June 2021, at 03:03 UTC (11:03 local time). Beijing-3 (北京三) is an Earth-observation satellite with a 0.5 m resolution, developed by Twenty First Century Aerospace Technology Pte. Ltd. As secondary payloads, three small satellites were launched: HaiSi-2 (海丝二号, “hello, ocean”), YangWang-1 (仰望一号, “look up”) and Space Test-1 Tianjian (太空试验1号天健卫星).

 

[Administrator]

Long March-2C launches Yaogan-30-09 and Tianqi-14

Jun 18, 2021

A Long March-2C launch vehicle launched a new group of three Yaogan-30 remote sensing satellites from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan Province, southwest China, on 18 June 2021, at 06:30 UTC (14:30 China Standard Time). The satellites (遥感三十号09) will work as part of a constellation for electromagnetic environment detection and related technological tests. According to official sources, the satellites have entered the planned orbits. The mission also launched the Tianqi-14 (天启星座14, part of the Tianqi/Apocalypse Constellation)

 

[Administrator]

Long March-2D launches five satellites

Jul 3, 2021

A Long March-2D launch vehicle launched five satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, Shanxi Province, northern China, on 3 July 2021, at 02:51 UTC (10:51 local time). Jilin-1 Kuanfu-01B (吉林一号 宽幅01B), also known as “Inner Mongolia One” (内蒙古一号), is an Earth-observation satellite with “high resolution, super wide range, super large storage, and high-speed data transmission”, according to the manufacturer. Jilin-1 Gaofen-03D-01 (高分03D01), Gaofen-03D-02 (高分03D02) and Gaofen-03D-03 (高分03D03) will join the previous Gaofen-03 launched to “provide users in forestry, agriculture, grassland, ocean, resources, environment and other industries with richer remote sensing data and product services”. The fifth satellite launched was Xingshidai-10 (星时代-10), a low-cost satellite. According to official sources, all five satellites entered the scheduled orbits and the launch mission was declared a complete success.

 

[Administrator]

Long March-4C launches FengYun-3E

Jul 5, 2021

A Long March-4C launch vehicle launched the FengYun-3E meteorological satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Gansu Province, northwest China, on 4 July 2021, at 23:28 UTC (5 July, at 07:28 local time). According to official sources, FengYun-3E (FY-3E, 风云三号E) was successfully placed into a polar orbit. The satellite is equipped with 11 instruments, providing data about atmospheric temperature, humidity, wind and other meteorological parameters for numerical prediction applications.

 

[Administrator]

Long March-3C launches TianLian-1 05

Jul 7, 2021

A Long March-3C launch vehicle launched the TianLian-1 05 satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan Province, China, on 6 July 2021, at 15:53 UTC (23:53 local time). TianLian-1 05 (天链一号05, “SkyLink”) is a communication satellite, the final in China’s first-generation data relay satellite system. After the satellite will complete in-orbit tests, it will form a network with TianLian-1 01, 02, 03, 04 and TianLian-2 01, providing global coverage and supporting communications between the China Space Station and the mission control center in Beijing.

 

[Administrator]

Long March-6 launches Zhongzi-02 satellites

Jul 9, 2021

A Long March-6 launch vehicle launched the Zhongzi-02 satellite group from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, Shanxi Province, China, on 9 July 2021, at 11:59 UTC (19:59 local time). The satellites are part of the Zhongzi (钟子号), also known as Ningxia(宁夏), constellation of remote-sensing satellites developed by the Ningxia Jingui Information Technology Co., Ltd.