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Late on Wednesday, China launched a synthetic aperture radar satellite with a 5-meter resolution, extending a period of intensive Chinese launch activity. On October 12, at 6:53 p.m. Eastern (22:53 UTC), a Long March 2C rocket launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China, with insulation tiles separating from the upper stage as the rocket climbed into the sky. It took China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. one hour. (CASC) pronounced the launch successful. The launch marks China's 18th since early August.
A new satellite for environmental monitoring, the S-band S-SAR01 satellite, also known as Huanjing-2E, was on board. Similar to the Huanjing-1C satellite that was launched in 2012, the satellite has a deployable truss antenna. A launch-related object was observed in an orbit with an inclination of 97.65 degrees, measuring 498 by 763 kilometers. The China National Space Administration states that the S-band radar image data from S-SAR01, which has a 5-meter resolution, will aid in "disaster prevention, reduction, relief, and environmental protection,"In furthermore, they "serve industries related to natural resources, water conservation, agriculture, forestry, earthquakes, and other matters" (CNSA).
Chinese official media reported that the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the Ministry of Emergency Management will be its primary users. The primary spacecraft manufacturer under CASC, China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), DFH Satellite Co. Ltd, a subsidiary constructed the satellite. The Long March 2C was made available by CASC's China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). Huanjing-2E will be launched in 2020, replacing the Huanjing-1A and 1B satellites that were launched in 2008. Huanjing-2A and 2B are medium-resolution optical spacecraft. The satellite improves the country's growing SAR capacities. Some commercial SAR constellations also appear to be in the works, some incorporating public-private collaborations.
The country's first specialized satellite for solar research, the Advanced Space-borne Solar Observatory (ASO-S), was launched by China a few days earlier. The four-year mission, which was launched on October 8 at 7:43 p.m. Eastern (23:43 UTC), aimed to shed light on how the magnetic fields of the sun affect solar flares and coronal mass ejections. A few hours less than 36 hours before the mission, the CentiSpace-1 S5 and S6 pair of navigational improvement satellites were launched into orbit.
A mobile offshore launch barge that had been transformed into a Long March 11 solid rocket was used to launch the pair into orbit. China conducted its fourth sea launch as part of its efforts to develop an ecosystem for satellite launches and launches from the sea near its sea launch facilities at Haiyang in the eastern state of Shandong. China launched its 43rd, 44th, and 45th satellites in 2022. Most have been carried out by CASC, which anticipates more than 50 launches throughout 2022. The third and final Tiangong space station module is now being prepared for launch by CASC by the end of October.
The second module, launched in July, Wentian, was recently relocated to a side docking port where it will dock with the 22-metric-ton Mengtian module for the duration of the Tiangong outpost.
Yash Ranjan10/14/2022
