HELSINKI — China launched three low-Earth orbit broadband test satellites on Friday, capping off a year of world launch records.
The Long March 2C rocket launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 7:13 pm on December 29 (00:13 UTC, December 30). China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) confirmed the successful launch, revealing that the passengers were three Internet technology test satellites.
U.S. Space Force Space Domain Awareness then tracked the three objects in an approximately 930-by-940-kilometer orbit with a 50-degree inclination.
The satellites were developed by China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a leading spacecraft manufacturer under CASC, China’s state-owned major space contractor.
China’s previous satellite internet test satellite, launched in 2023, was also developed by CASC’s Shanghai Academy of Space Flight Technology (SAST) and the Microsatellite Innovation Academy (IAMCAS) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
The mission is believed to be part of China’s state-run Guowang LEO broadband mega-constellation project. Meanwhile, the first satellite of another Chinese mega-satellite constellation rolled off the assembly line earlier this week.
This mission will be China’s 67th launch into orbit in 2023. This number surpasses the previous national record of 64, set in 2022.
Breakdown for 2023
CASC had targeted more than 60 launches this year and aimed to put more than 200 spacecraft into orbit. Although there were no launch failures, 17 of the 67 launches were by commercial space personnel, making them somewhat underwhelming. Only one launch failure occurred, and that was with startup Galactic Energy’s Ceres 1 rocket.
CASC will continue to rely heavily on older, hypergolic Long March 2, 3, and 4 series rocket launches throughout 2023, with the anticipated Long March 5B launch not occurring. China will complete the Tiangong Space Station with two module launches in 2022, and the tonnage that China will put into orbit will decrease significantly in 2022, coupled with the fact that many of the launches in 2023 will be light-lift solid rockets. There is a high possibility that it will.
The CASC has suffered a development in recent days in which Wu Yansheng, chairman of its main advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), was stripped of his seat. Chinese media also reported that Wang Changqing, deputy director of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), another state-owned enterprise involved in space activities, lost his seat. What this means for individuals and their respective companies is currently unknown.
China’s major launches in 2023 include the Shenzhou 16 and 17 manned missions to Tiangong, the launch of remote sensing assets into geostationary orbit, the launch of the country’s first commercial liquid launcher, and the launch of a secret experimental spaceplane. Includes third flight.
There were 222 launch attempts in 2023, surpassing the previous record of 186 in 2022. China trails only the United States, which has conducted 116 launches, but that number also includes the Rocket Lab Electron launch from New Zealand. SpaceX accounted for 98 of those launches, falling slightly short of the planned 100 launches.
Key missions in 2023 include NASA’s Psyche-Metal World Explorer, SpaceX’s first orbital Starship launch attempt, India’s historic Chandrayaan-3 moon landing, and ESA’s Jupiter Ice Moon Explorer (JUICE). and the Euclid Space Telescope, Russia’s failed Luna 25 mission and Japan’s SLIM launch. Lunar lander.
The mystery of the space plane
One of SpaceX’s final missions saw the U.S. Space Force’s X-37B spaceplane enter a highly elliptical, high-inclination orbit, reaching a much higher altitude than its previous six missions. has been done.
China also launched its own reusable spaceplane in early December. This pair of missions symbolizes that the United States and China are major players in space, and that geopolitical tensions between the two countries are extending into space.
Some media reported that a Chinese spaceplane released six satellites into orbit. However, these reports appear to have misrepresented the fact that the spaceplane did not eject objects, but rather that a total of six objects, including the spaceplane, were tracked in orbit. Amateur spacecraft trackers suggested that some object other than the spaceplane was transmitting the signal. The spaceplane deployed small payloads into orbit during his two previous missions.
However, the other five objects were probably the upper stage of the Long March 2nd floor and four pieces of debris typically associated with the launch of the Long March 2nd floor. One of his spaceship trackers provided Updated on December 22ndThis suggests that a minor timing issue caused trackers to misidentify signals sent by China’s Yaogang reconnaissance satellite constellation as coming from debris associated with the spaceplane.