China Launches Two Satellites

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, May 15, 2002

China Launches Two Satellites

China's Long March IV-B Carrier Rocket successfully launched a marine exploratory satellite and a meterological satellite into space at around 09:50 Wednesday.

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China Launches Two Satellites with One Rocket

China on Wednesday successfully launched two new satellites.

The Fengyun-1D meteorological satellite and Haiyang-1 marine surveying satellite were launched on a Long March 4 rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province.

The Haiyang-1 is the first marine surveying satellite independently developed by China.

The Fengyun-1D is a first generation meteorological satellite developed by China, which will lead the way to comprehensive weather services and monitoring the global environment.

The launch was the 25th consecutive successful launch on the Long March rockets since October 1996.

Experts said that the successful launch of the two satellites shows that China has basically set up a long-term satellite monitoring system, which would speed up China's meteorological research and help promote national economic development.

Progress in Aerospace Carrier Technology

Monitoring statistics show that the error of launch precision with the carrier rocket is less than 1,000 meters, far below the error benchmark allowed.

China had so far successfully launched 12 types of Long March rocket, and had just completed the research work on two new rockets which are awaiting test launches, said Zhang Qingwei, general manager of China Aerospace Science and Technology Company Group.

Six of the rockets are used for lower earth orbit launches, four are designed for medium-range orbit, and the other four are designed for higher orbit.

Payloads ranged from 0.2 tons to eight tons for lower earth orbit rockets, 0.4 tons to 2.8 tons for sun-synchronous orbit rockets, and 1.5 tons to 5.1 tons for geostationary transfer orbit,Zhang went on.

"Long March series rockets, with their designed carrying capacities, have met the demands for launching space vehicles at lower, middle and higher earth orbits," said Zhang.

The Long March 2E rocket developed in the latter half of the 1980s was a breakthrough in Chinese rocket technology, sending a 9.5-ton payload into a near-earth orbit and laying a solid foundation for manned space missions.

The Long March 3B rockets developed in the mid 1990s raised thepayload of China's carrier rockets for geostationary transfer orbit to 5.1 tons, the world's fourth largest rocket payload.

In the meantime, China has become the third country to master the technology of low-temperature high-energy propellant and the second to master the technology of the engine's second ignition inthe upper air.

Zhang said that Long March 3A and Long March 3B rockets were renowned for having bigger payloads at higher orbits.

He added that China's remarkable progress in aerospace carrier technology has not only promoted the country's development in satellite and manned space technology, but also played an important role in enlarging international cooperation in aerospaceand improving the country's strength in science, technology, national defence.

First Independently-Developed Marine Satellite

The Haiyang-1 satellite is China's first marine satellite for surveying ocean resources, developed by the Chinese Institute of Space Technology.

It weights 360 kg with a designed life span of two years and sun-synchronous orbit.

Technicians said that the Haiyang-1 satellite used visible light and infrared spectral coverage to probe water temperature, and was equipped with remote sensors to transfer digital and imagemessages back to earth.

After an in-orbit trial, the marine satellite will be passed over to the National Marine Satellite Application Center.

China has over 18,000 kilometers of continental coastline, over6,500 inshore islands and about 14,000 kilometers of shoreline.

According to the United Nations maritime treaty, China governs nearly 3 million square kilometers of sea area.

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