China launched the Yunhai-3 (02) satellite on a Long March 6A rocket late Tuesday for meteorological purposes.
A rocket named Long March 6A took off from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China on March 26 at 6:51 p.m. Eastern (2251 UTC). The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC) later confirmed the launch was successful and revealed that the payload was Yunhai-3 (02). confirmed The launch was previously only mentioned in airspace closure notices. Not much information about the satellite has been provided.
China's space authorities and state media briefly described the satellite as being for atmospheric and marine environment surveys, space environment monitoring, disaster prevention and reduction, and scientific experiments.
Some Western analysts believe that the Yunhai series of satellites are for military meteorological purposes. They are thought to include Global Navigation Satellite System Radio Occultation satellites for collecting atmospheric data. China also operates civilian Fengyun meteorological satellites.
The first Yunhai-3 satellite was launched in November 2022 on a previous Long March 6A rocket and is currently in a near-polar orbit at an altitude of 849 kilometers. It is monitored by the U.S. Space Force’s 18th Space Defense Squadron (SDS). assessed The first Yunhai-3 launch saw the separation of the Long March 6A’s upper stage. Nine of the 37 pieces of debris tracked by 18 SDS from the event remain in orbit.GNSS-RONew Long March rockets
Tuesday’s mission was the fifth launch of the Long March 6A, taking off from a specifically designed launch pad at the Taiyuan spaceport. The 50-meter-long, 530-metric-ton rocket has two kerosene-liquid oxygen stages and four solid propellant side boosters. It is the first Chinese rocket to use a combination of liquid and solid stages and boosters.
The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST), the manufacturer of the rocket, plans to launch the first Long March 6C rocket later this year. It will use the Long March 6A core stage without the solid boosters. breakup The Long March 6A series, with a diameter of 3.35 meters, is quite different from the standard Long March 6, which has a diameter of 2.25 meters. CASC stated that Tuesday’s launch is the beginning of frequent launches of the Long March 6 series this year. China has been introducing new, kerosene and liquid oxygen Long March rockets since 2015. These are expected to eventually replace the older hypergolic and toxic Long March 2, 3, and 4 series rockets. However, China's Jiuquan and Xichang spaceports can currently only launch hypergolic and solid Long March rockets.
China is expanding its coastal Wenchang launch facilities to accommodate the launch of the new Long March 8 and commercial launchers, which will alleviate the bottleneck in launching newer Chinese rockets.
Tuesday’s launch was China’s 14th orbital mission of 2024. It follows the launch of six Yunhai-2 series satellites last week. The country aims to conduct around 100 launches in 2024, with about 70 being carried out by CASC, and SAST planning to launch its new, 3.8-meter-diameter Long March 12, previously referred to as the “
China's companies that provide commercial space launch services are preparing for approximately 30 launches.
China increased its collection of confidential weather satellites by sending Yunhai-3 (02) into orbit on Tuesday night.
CASC stated that Tuesday’s launch is the start of high-frequency launch of the Long March 6 series this year.
China has been introducing new, kerosene and liquid oxygen Long March rockets since 2015. These are expected to eventually replace the aging hypergolic and toxic Long March 2, 3 and 4 series rockets. So far however, China’s busiest spaceports—Jiuquan in the northwest and Xichang in the southwest—are capable of launching hypergolic and solid Long March rockets only.
China is expanding its coastal Wenchang launch facilities to allow launches of the new Long March 8 and commercial launchers. This will ease the bottleneck in launching newer Chinese rockets.
Tuesday’s launch was China’s 14th orbital mission of 2024. It follows the launch of six Yunhai-2 series satellites last week. The country is aiming to launch around 100 times across 2024. Around 70 will be conducted by CASC, with SAST aiming to launch its new, 3.8-meter-diameter Long March 12, previously referred to as the “XLV.” China’s commercial launch service providers are planning around 30 launches.
