[ad_1]
Two Chinese spacecraft designed to test inter-satellite network and Earth observation technologies were launched on Wednesday in addition to a 2C long-duration booster.
The two satellites were taken off at 3:30 am GMT on Wednesday (11:30 pm EDT Tuesday) from the Xichang Space Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, the Chinese government's Xinhua news agency reported.
The Long March 2C rocket flew to the southeast from the interior mountainous spaceport after launch, which was held at 11:30 am, Beijing time.
The two-stage launcher delivered the satellites in their planned orbit, according to China's Launch Technology Academy, the country's largest rocket builder.
The US military sighting date indicated that the two satellites were deployed in orbit about 485 kilometers above the Earth, on a ground track tilted 35 degrees from the equator.
Chinese state media have published little information about the spacecraft launched on Wednesday. Their names have not been officially announced, but Chinese authorities have said the satellite will perform tests on inter-satellite links and Earth observation technology.
Launched satellites stacked inside the elongated version of the payload envelope of the Long March 2C rocket, modified to adapt to the height of the spacecraft coupled with inside, according to CALT. Engineers also customized the rocket payload separation mechanism to provide low-impact satellite deployment, officials said.
Wednesday 's flight marked the 18th annual space launch by China, and the 54th global space mission to successfully fly into Earth orbit or beyond until today in 2018.
Email the author.
Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @ StephenClark1.
[ad_2]
Source link
