China launches imaging satellite
Posted: Sun, Oct 27, 2002, 11:53 AM ET (1653 GMT)
China announced early Sunday that it launched an imaging satellite designed for remote sensing or military reconnaissance work. A Long March 4B rocket lifted off from the Taiyuan launch center at 11:17 pm EDT Saturday night (0317 GMT, 11:17 am local time Sunday) and placed the satellite into a 500-kilometer Sun-synchronous orbit. The spacecraft was identified by Chinese officials as Zi Yuan 2 (ZY-2), a remote sensing satellite similar to another ZY satellite (also known by some sources as ZY-2) launched in September 2000. While Chinese officials called this a remote sensing satellite, the spacecraft is likely also used to provide high-resolution military reconnaissance images, according to Western sources. The launch is the third successful one of the year for China, after the March launch of Shenzhou 3 and the May launch of two earth science satellites on another Long March 4B. In addition, the September launch of an unidentified payload on a new Kaituozhe 1 small launch vehicle apparently failed, but was not reported by the Chinese media.
China announced early Sunday that it launched an imaging satellite designed for remote sensing or military reconnaissance work. A Long March 4B rocket lifted off from the Taiyuan launch center at 11:17 pm EDT Saturday night (0317 GMT, 11:17 am local time Sunday) and placed the satellite into a 500-kilometer Sun-synchronous orbit. The spacecraft was identified by Chinese officials as Zi Yuan 2 (ZY-2), a remote sensing satellite similar to another ZY satellite (also known by some sources as ZY-2) launched in September 2000. While Chinese officials called this a remote sensing satellite, the spacecraft is likely also used to provide high-resolution military reconnaissance images, according to Western sources. The launch is the third successful one of the year for China, after the March launch of Shenzhou 3 and the May launch of two earth science satellites on another Long March 4B. In addition, the September launch of an unidentified payload on a new Kaituozhe 1 small launch vehicle apparently failed, but was not reported by the Chinese media.| <<previous article | next article>> |
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