China’s Long March 4C has recently launched three military satellites ending the secrecy of its mission and causing the social media to scramble some news a few hours before lift-off. The launch, which took place at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 23:37 UTC on Friday, featured three technological-based satellites dubbed as Shjian-15, Shiyan Weixing-7, and Chuang Xin-3.
Shijian (Practice) satellites are designed to perform technological demonstration while Shiyan Weixing satellites are for testing new technologies. Moreover, Shijian 15 will be used to test a Chinese made robotic arm while Shiyan-7 will be for scanning orbital debris.
Chung Xin (Innovation) satellites were microsatellites for experimental telecommunications which are designed and created by the Academy of Sciences in China.
With this achievement, the Long March (Chang Zheng) launch vehicle currently holds a record of 179 successful launches and 42 successful orbital launches from Taiyuan. It is this year’s first successful launch in Taiyuan and also the fifth successful orbital launch in China.
The three satellites are distinct and unique in their own right as they feature metered lengths and diameter sizes ranging from 4.93 to 24.65 and 2.9 to 3.35 respectively. Engines that are used have been identified as YF-21B, YF-22B, and YF-40. Likewise, gross mass ranges from 14,560kg to 193.330kg while N204/UDMH consumption ranges from 12,814kg to 183,340kg.
The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC) is strategically located in the Kelan County found at the northwest region of the Shanxi Province. It is also referred by its Wuzhai county designation. The satellite center is used predominantly for polar launches involving scientific satellites, Earth resources, and meteorological experiments.
The altitude at the center is measured at 1400 to 1900-meter higher than sea level and is bounded on the north, south, and east by mountains and on the west by the Yellow River. Annually, it has an average temperature of four to 10 degrees Celsius which can reach a maximum degree of 28 Celsius during summer and as low as -39 Celsius during winter.
