China successfully sent a new remote-sensing satellite group into orbit from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province on Monday morning.
The 10th group of the Yaogan-30 family, the satellites were launched aboard a Long March-2C carrier rocket at 8:19 a.m.
The satellites will carry out electromagnetic environment detection and relevant technological verification in a multi-satellite network, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
The Tianqi-15, a satellite of the Tianqi constellation, was also aboard the rocket. It is mainly for data collection for the Internet of Things, the CASC said.
A Long March-2C carrier rocket taking the 10th group of satellites belonging to the Yaogan-30 family lifts off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center, July 19, 2021. /China Media Group
Developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology under the CASC, the Long March-2C rocket is a liquid-fueled launch vehicle with a total length of 43 meters. It has a takeoff mass of 242 tonnes and can lift up to 2 tonnes to a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 kilometers.
"The Long March-2C rocket had sent all the 10 groups of the Yaogan-30 satellites into the preset orbit with high precision in the four years since the launch of the first group in 2017," said Xing Jianwei, vice chief designer of the Long March-2C rocket.
The 100-percent success rate of the launches demonstrates the rocket's high reliability, Xing added.
The launch was the 77th flight mission of the Long March-2C rockets and the 380th of the Long March rocket series.
