Rocket carries six satellites into orbit
Long March-11 serves international users for first time
China launched two high-resolution optical remote sensing satellites and four other small commercial satellites – carried by solid-propellant rocket Long March-11 – into a preset orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China’s Gansu Province on Friday.
This is another breakthrough for the Long March-11 in the launch of multiple satellites, and the first time for China’s solid-propellant rockets to serve international users.
The two commercial satellites, Jilin-1 Video 07 and 08, were independently developed by Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company, and will provide remote sensing data and services to government agencies and commercial users together with eight previously launched Jilin-1 satellites, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
One of the four other small commercial satellites on the Long March-11 rocket was for Canada.
The Long March-11 is much smaller than the normal liquid-propellant rockets in the Long March family, but is more flexible and convenient, Huang Jun, a professor at the Department of Flight Vehicle Design and Applied Mechanics of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, told the Global Times on Friday.
With a length of 20.8 meters and a rocket diameter of two meters, the rocket weighs 58 tons. It is capable of sending payloads of 700 kilograms to low-Earth orbit, and 400 kilograms to Sun-synchronous orbit 700 kilometers above the ground, domestic news site chinanews.com reported.
But it takes less time for the Long March-11 to launch, as solid fuel can be stored in the rocket for a longer time, Huang said.
This is one of the rockets with the least launch preparation time in the world, with a minimum preparation time of 24 hours, far outpacing the three days for US rockets of its class, Yang Yiqiang, general director of Long March-11, was quoted as saying in the chinanews.com report. “The success of the mission also indicates the further improvement of the commercial launch service process and configuration of Long March-11 rockets,” Yang said. Despite the progress, the international competiveness of China’s smaller satellites is still weak, Huang noted, adding that Long March-8, currently being researched, can meet greater international needs with its payload at several thousand kilograms. In October 2015, four Jilin-1 commercial satellites were sent into space. In January 2017, Jilin-1 Video 03 was launched, and Jilin-1 Video 04, 05 and 06 satellites were put into predetermined orbits in November last year. Friday witnessed the 264th mission of the Long March rockets. It was also the 100th aerospace launch mission carried out by the Jiuquan center. Established in 1958, the center was China’s first comprehensive and only manned space launch center.