Nation embarks on new lunar missions with Queqiao-2 launch

▶ Key platform to support domestic, intl moon programs

China on Wednesday launched into preset orbit the Queqiao-2 relay communication satellite as well as Tiandu-1, Tiandu-2 communication and navigation technology experiment satellites, the key constellation supporting the country’s subsequent Chang’e lunar exploration missions as well as international exploration programs.

Carrying the three satellites, a Long March-8 rocket took off from Wenchang Space Launch Site in South China’s Hainan Province at around 8: 31 am on Wednesday. And after a flight of 24 minutes, the Queqiao-2 satellite separated from the carrier rocket and then its solar wings and communication antennas unfolded normally, marking the complete success of the launch mission, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

Queqiao-2, or Magpie Bridge-2, is a relay satellite for communications between the far side of the moon and the Earth. The satellite will serve as a relay platform for the fourth phase of China’s lunar exploration program, providing communications services for Chang’e-4, Chang’e-6, Chang’e-7, and Chang’e-8 missions.

Compared to the Queqiao-1 relay satellite launched in 2018, the Queqiao-2 features more technological innovations, a broader range of technical capabilities, more complex interfaces, higher development complexity, and a longer mission time span. Additionally, Queqiao-2 carries multiple scientific payloads and will conduct scientific exploration missions, per the CNSA.

The CNSA also highlighted on Wednesday that the Queqiao-2 relay satellite would provide services for subsequent lunar probe missions, both Chinese and international ones.

And 120 seconds after the separation of Queqiao-2 relay satellite, the Tiandu satellite combination separated from the relay satellite and entered a direct Earthmoon transfer orbit with a near-point altitude of 200 kilometers and a far-point altitude of 420,000 kilometers, the Tiandu program contractor Deep Space Exploration Lab (DSEL) revealed in a statement it sent to the Global Times on Wednesday.

Subsequently, with ground control support, Tiandu satellites will undergo mid-course corrections and near-moon braking to enter a capture orbit, the DSEL confirmed.

Then, under orbit control, it will enter a 24-hour period elliptical lunar orbit, following which the two satellites will separate, and the relative distance will be adjusted to about 200 kilometers to conduct new technology verifications such as lunar orbit navigation, the DSEL disclosed.

According to the CALT, the Wednesday mission was the third flight of the Long March-8 rocket. In 2020, it successfully debuted, filling the gap in China’s ability to carry 3-5 tons to Sunsynchronous orbit. In 2022, it adapted to commercial launch missions with “one rocket, 22 satellites” without two boosters.