A mini-satellite and a micro-satellite, both for experimental
purposes, blasted off atop a Long March rocket from Southwest
China's Sichuan Province just before Sunday midnight.
The event marked that China has made "important breakthroughs"
in the research and development of small satellites, a Xichang
Satellite Launch Center spokesman said.
"Experimental Satellite I," a minisat weighing 204 kilograms,
blasted off into space at 11:59 pm aboard a Long March 2C rocket
from the center, said the spokesman.
A microsat, the 25-kilogram "Nano-satellite I," was also
launched piggyback-style on the rocket, the spokesman said.
Twelve minutes after the rocket lifted off, "Experimental
Satellite I" entered into its preset sun-synchronous orbit, which
is 597 kilometers above the Earth.
In about 30 seconds, the nano-satellite had also reached the
sun's orbit, around 596 kilometers from Earth, according to reports
from the Xi'an Satellite Monitoring Center in Northwest China's
Shaanxi Province.
Micro-satellites are satellites lighter than 100 kilograms,
while a mini-satellite is usually one weighing between 100
kilograms and a half ton, according to aerospace conventions.
These new types of satellites, based on micro-electronic
technology, are known for their high quality, low costs, and the
shorter amounts of time needed for research and manufacturing,
space experts said.
"Experimental Satellite I" was developed by the Harbin Institute
of Technology in Heilongjiang Province, the China Aerospace Science
and Technology Corp in Beijing, and two other partner institutes.
The pioneering satellite involved a wealth of advanced
mini-satellite expertise, and has "blazed a new trail in terms of
developing China's mini-satellite technology," the spokesman
said.
The China Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station under the
Chinese Academy of Sciences will use the mini-satellite for land
resource photogrammetry, geographic environmental monitoring and
surveying and mapping experiments, he said.
"Nano-satellite I" was developed, and will be used by the
Tsinghua University and the Aerospace Tsinghua Satellite Technology
Co in Beijing. By launching such an experimental nano-satellite,
Chinese scientists hope to develop a nano-satellite platform,
according to the spokesman.
He said that China has made headway in the field of small
satellites. It is now capable of developing satellites weighing 25
kilograms and beyond.
(China Daily April 19, 2004)