China Launches New Satellite Constellation

Taiyuan (ANTARA) - China launched a group of satellites on Saturday (19/9) from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in Shanxi Province, northern China.

Launched at 18:50 Beijing Time using a Long March-2D carrier rocket, the satellite constellation, consisting of PIESAT-2 satellites 13 to 16, successfully entered its designated orbit.

According to the launch centre, this launch marks the 668th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.

The rocket is a two-stage liquid-fuel launch vehicle. Its payload capacity reaches 1.3 tonnes into a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 700 kilometres.

The rocket carried four synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites developed by GalaxySpace, a private satellite manufacturer based in Beijing.

Duan Xiao, the lead designer of the SAR satellites, stated that the satellites are equipped with high-resolution and intelligent payloads that enable real-time processing of remote sensing data in orbit. Such a design will further drive the development of intelligent space infrastructure in the future.