China’s busy spaceflight yr continues.
The nation launched its thirty eighth orbital mission of 2022 on Tuesday (Sept. 13), sending the Zhongxing-1E satellite aloft atop a Long March 7A rocket. The launcher lifted off at 9:18 a.m. EDT (1318 GMT; 9:18 p.m. Beijing time) from the Wenchang Area Launch Web site on the island of Hainan and efficiently delivered its payload to geostationary switch orbit (GTO) as deliberate, Chinese space officials said (opens in new tab).
Zhongxing-1E was constructed by the China Academy of Area Know-how (CAST). China has mentioned little in regards to the spacecraft, describing it normally phrases as a communications satellite.Â
Associated: China’s Long March rocket family: History and photos
“The obscure description of the satellite matches statements for earlier Zhongxing-1 collection satellites,” Andrew Jones reported for Space News (opens in new tab). “The ignorance and pictures of the satellite means that the satellite collection serves army clients.”
The newest satellite within the collection, Zhongxing-1D, launched in November 2021 atop a Lengthy March 3B rocket from Xichang Satellite tv for pc Launch Heart in southwestern China, Jones wrote.
“The change of launcher and spaceport for the Zhongxing-1E launch, together with wording in a CAST press release (opens in new tab), suggests a bigger, heavier satellite bus than earlier satellites,” he wrote, noting that the Lengthy March 3 is significantly much less highly effective than the 197-foot-tall (60 meters) Lengthy March 7A. “The satellite was additionally transported by ship from Tianjin to Wenchang, whereas satellites are flown to Xichang.”
However it’s additionally potential, Jones wrote, that China is just transferring away from the Lengthy March 3B and towards the 7A for launches to GTO. Along with being much less highly effective than the 7A, the 3B is significantly older; it debuted in 1996, whereas the 7A’s first profitable flight occurred simply final yr.
China is not alone in setting a breakneck launch tempo this yr. SpaceX has already performed 41 orbital missions in 2022, most of them dedicated to constructing out its big Starlink broadband constellation.
Mike Wall is the writer of “Out There (opens in new tab)” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a guide in regards to the seek for alien life. Comply with him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Comply with us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Facebook (opens in new tab). Â
