China launches four PIESAT-2 radar satellites — ECNS
China on September 19 launched four PIESAT-2 satellites aboard a Long March 2D launch vehicle from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi Province. The launch took place at 18:50, ECNS reported, citing Beijing-based private satellite company GalaxySpace.
Satellite equipment
The four spacecraft are equipped with high-resolution synthetic aperture radars. They also carry intelligent data-processing and mission-planning systems.
According to GalaxySpace, the satellites can process remote-sensing data in real time directly in orbit. This is expected to improve processing efficiency. Duan Xiao, chief designer of GalaxySpace's SAR satellites, said that many spacecraft developed by the company are already carrying out large-scale data processing in orbit.
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Long March 2D rocket
The Long March 2D rocket was developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology. It uses liquid fuel and can place spacecraft weighing up to 1.3 tonnes into a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit.
This launch was the 668th flight in the Long March rocket series. GalaxySpace noted that it has already launched 53 independently developed satellites, more than ten of which are equipped with synthetic aperture radars.
