A Chinese Long March 4B rocket carrying Gaofen remote-sensing satellite and the Xibaipo space science satellite from the Taiyuan Satellite...
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| A Chinese Long March 4B rocket carrying Gaofen remote-sensing satellite and the Xibaipo space science satellite from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on July 3, 2020. (Image credit: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation) |
The first launch soared into space from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China's Shanxi province. Two satellites from the China Academy of Space Technology flew into orbit on a Long March 4B rocket at 11:10 a.m. local time Friday, July 3 (11:10 p.m. Thursday, July 2 EDT or 0310 July 3 GMT), according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC).
One satellite, identified as Gaofen by SpaceNews, was billed in Chinese media as a remote sensing satellite for civilian use. The satellite's resolution is less than a meter (three feet) and it will operate in an orbit to place the sun at a consistent angle on the surface, called a sun-synchronous orbit. This orbit makes it easier to compare pictures between satellite passes.
"It [the satellite] can provide high-precision remote-sensing image data for several industries including surveying and mapping, natural resources, emergency management, agriculture, ecological environment, residential construction and forestry," CASC said in a statement. The satellite will obtain images of China's land "and surrounding areas", added state media source CCTV.
The rocket also carried a satellite to popularize space science for teenagers, CCTV said, through doing science experiments such as transmitting images and voice data. The satellite is called Xibaipo, sharing a name with the region that once hosted the site of the Central Committee of the Community Party of China in the late 1940s.
Two days after these satellites flew into space, China successfully performed another launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, CCTV and CASC said.