Tag: August 12

China Launches World’s First Geosynchronous Orbit Radar Satellite of its Kind

Space News reports that China “launched what is thought to be the world’s first geosynchronous orbit synthetic aperture radar satellite on Saturday.” A Long March 3B rocket “lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China at 1:36 p.m. Eastern (1736 UTC) Aug. 12.” The Land Exploration-4 01 (Ludi Tance-4 (01)) satellite successfully “entered geosynchronous transfer orbit, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. … (CASC) announced within an hour of liftoff.” Few details of the satellite “were provided by CASC.” However the group’s “blue book” outlining plans for 2023 released in January noted the launch of a “high-orbit 20-meter [resolution] SAR satellite.” The L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite “will provide all-day, all-weather observation of China and surrounding areas, boosting the country’s disaster prevention, reduction, and relief capabilities.”
Full Story (Space News)

Europe’s Ariane 6 Rocket Launches for Third Time

SPACE reports, “Europe’s Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket launched for the third time ever” on the evening of August 12, “sending an advanced weather and climate satellite to orbit. The powerful Ariane 6 lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana … at 8:37 p.m. EDT (9:37 p.m. local time in Kourou; 0037 GMT on Aug. 13).”
Full Story (SPACE)

 Video

Ariane 6 Rocket Launches for Third Time Ever (Launch at the 30:12 mark)
Arianespace; YouTube

ULA Vulcan Rocket Launches on its First Mission for Space Force

Spaceflight Now reports, “Equipped with four solid-fuel strap-on boosters for additional takeoff power, the 198-foot-tall Vulcan’s two methane-fueled BE-4 engines thundered to life at 8:56p.m. EDT, instantly propelling the rocket away from pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

 Video

Launch of a ULA Vulcan rocket carrying the U.S. Space Force (USSF)-106 mission (Liftoff at 19:39)
ULA; YouTube