Long March 11 puts satellites in orbit
Launch marks first time that China has provided lift services for Canadian client
China launched a Long March 11 carrier rocket on Friday to send six satellites into space, according to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.
The mission marked the first time that a Chinese solid-propellant rocket has been used with a foreign client, the academy, which developed and built the rocket, said in a news release.
The Long March 11 blasted off at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China at 12:12 pm and later placed six small satellites — two Earthobservation satellites made by a State-owned firm, three experimental satellites from Chinese private companies as well as a Canadian miniaturized satellite made by Kepler Communications, a satellite startup in Toronto — into orbit.
This is the third mission of the Long March 11 and the 264th of the Long March family, according to the academy. China Great Wall Industry Corp, a State-owned enterprise that signed the launch contract with Kepler Communications, said in a statement that this is the first time that a Canadian satellite was lifted by a Chinese rocket.
The Long March 11 has a length of 20.8 meters, a diameter of 2 m and a liftoff weight of 58 metric tons. It is capable of sending 700 kilograms of payload into a low-Earth orbit or 400 kg into a Sun-synchronous orbit 700 kilometers above the ground, statistics from the academy show.
Its first flight was in September 2015 at the Jiuquan center when it lifted four satellites to a Sun-synchronous orbit. The second flight took place in November 2016 at the same center, sending an X-ray pulsar navigation satellite and four small experimental satellites into orbit.
Peng Kunya, chief designer of the Long March 11, said the type is suitable for emergencyresponse launches, which will be needed to replace damaged satellites or to send new ones to monitor disasters. He added that the rocket is also competitive in the commercial launch market for small satellites.
Yang Yiqiang, the rocket’s project manager, said that it takes only 90 days to produce a Long March 11 rocket and get it ready for flight after a client places an order.
Yang said the Long March 11 mainly targets domestic makers of small, low-orbit satellites, noting the rocket has received orders worth a total value of 1 billion yuan ($156 million).
According to Meng Xiang, chief of international cooperation at China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, engineers have made a plan for Long March 11’s sea-based launch and are conducting tests to verify the plan.
He said if everything goes well, a Long March 11 will be launched from a ship this year.
Experts explained that compared with launches at conventional land-based platforms, a sea-based mission will have a lower risk of affecting populated area and airlines, and features better economy when it comes to satellites orbiting above regions near the equator.