China efficiently launched a navy satellite to check “space debris mitigation know-how,” in keeping with state media stories.
The satellite, driving on board a Long March 3B rocket, lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China at 9:27 p.m. EDT Saturday, Oct. 23 (0127 GMT or 9:27 a.m. native time Sunday, Oct. 24.)
Footage from China Central Television reveals the rocket, backdropped by hills, lifting off amid cloudy conditions on the launch website. The satellite on board is named Shijian-21 and shall be “used for the verification of space debris mitigation technology”, China state media supplier CCTV stated in a brief English-language report.
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, which is the primary contractor for the Chinese space program, added that the launch was a “complete success” because the satellite had achieved its supposed orbit, though the report did not reveal which orbit that was precisely. (A SpaceNews report suggests the satellite was moved to a geosynchronous switch orbit.)
Related: The worst space debris events of all time]
The varied Chinese-language information stories, machine-translated into English, supplied few particulars concerning the labeled navy mission. So far there have been no particulars about Shijian-21’s mission or capabilities.
The mission is happening amid a world motion to reduce space debris or to create lively applied sciences to handle it, together with new efforts by firms starting from Northrop Grumman and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak’s stealth startup, Privateer.
With regard to Chinese pursuits on this subject, stories emerged in August {that a} Chinese satellite was walloped by a chunk of previous Russian rocketry in March. The G-7 nations (which don’t embody China) pledged to handle space particles throughout a meeting in June.
But China has been present process space scrutiny currently; senior NASA officers have been outspoken about China’s space activities in latest months, and the nation intentionally allowed a huge rocket to fall uncontrolled to Earth in May.
SpaceNews famous the navy focus of the mission would possible appeal to extra worldwide consideration. “[Since] space debris mitigation technologies are ‘dual-use,’ having both civilian and military applications, the satellite is likely to attract interest and scrutiny outside China,” the report stated.
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