China has recently added three new satellites to its growing list of orbital missions, which now exceeds 10,000 satellites. The successful launch happened at 00:10 UTC on October 22 (or 20:10 on October 21, local time) using a Long March 6 rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China.
Launch Details
Though local news referred to the launch of a single satellite, the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) clarified that three satellites were sent into space. They are named Tianping-3A (01), B (01), and B (02). Their primary objective is to calibrate ground radars and carry out radar cross-section measurements. SAST stated that these satellites will aid in ground optical equipment imaging experiments and support low-orbit space environment detection and monitoring tasks. They will also provide services for atmospheric space environment measurements and help correct orbit prediction models.
Limited Information
Unfortunately, there wasn't much additional detail provided about these satellites. The Long March 6 rocket, which has been operational since 2015, has completed 13 successful missions to date. China has aimed for an impressive total of 50 orbital launches this year alone. Just last week, they successfully launched the Gaofen-12 Earth observation satellite along with 18 others, all intended for the Qianfan/Thousand megaconstellation project.
Upcoming Missions
Later this month, China plans to send three astronauts to the Tiangong space station on the Shenzhou-19 mission. More details about this mission are expected to be released soon.
