Commercial space projects expected to provide more services in China

WUHAN, July 17 (Xinhua) -- China unveiled a series of commercial space projects at the recent 9th China (International) Commercial Aerospace Forum held in Wuhan. The programs are expected to provide more service in sectors such as natural resources survey, disaster warning and remote sensing.

The projects include an ultra-low orbit satellite constellation, the Tianmu meteorological constellation, Luojia-2 SAR remote sensing application system, satellite data application public service platform for the city of Wuhan, a satellite resource sharing service platform, Nvwa constellation, four-dimension Earth remote sensing cloud service platform, Tianlong-3 large liquid-propellant carrier rocket and the Weihai-1 satellite payload for laser communication.

Yuan Jie, chief executive officer of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Limited (CASIC), said that with these major projects, China's commercial space sector will enter a new stage of using satellite data to provide services in new consumer areas.

Among them, the ultra-low orbit satellite constellation project is scheduled for its first launch in December. An ultra-low orbit is an orbital altitude of less than 300 km, which enables the constellation to have lower costs, higher resolution, and shorter transmission delays.

The Tianmu series satellites are a constellation of meteorological satellites. It currently has seven in-orbit satellites and has started to provide stable meteorological data.

The Luojia-2 SAR remote sensing application system is developed by Wuhan University and the CASIC. "SAR" refers to a microwave-imaging radar system that emits electromagnetic waves to Earth and receives echoes. It can capture high-definition microwave pictures of the land surface.

The Luojia-2 system can serve many fields, such as natural resources survey, water resources monitoring, disaster warning and forecasting. The Luojia-2 satellite was sent into space in May.

Zhang Zhaoyong, a director from the CASIC, said that the CASIC has been promoting commercial satellite manufacturing and rocket launches. The Kuaizhou solid-fuel carrier rockets have been developed into series. The Kuaizhou-1 carrier rocket has achieved 18 successful launch missions, sending 34 satellites into preset orbits. The Kuaishou-11, the newest carrier rocket model, made its maiden flight last year with improved carrying capacities.

The Weihai-1 laser communication payload will realize real-time transmission of large amounts of ocean remote sensing data and fishing vessel detection data through several satellites. Its communication capacity is equal to transmitting a high-definition movie per second, bringing laser communication to ocean remote sensing and control.

The satellite, carrying the Weihai-1 payload, will be launched in November.

The Tianlong-3 rocket, developed by Space Pioneer, has a diameter of 3.8 meters, a total length of 71 meters, a takeoff mass of 590 tonnes, a takeoff thrust of 770 tonnes, a low-Earth orbit carrying capacity of 17 tonnes, and a sun-synchronous orbit capacity of 14 tonnes.

The rocket is scheduled to complete its first flight in May 2024 and is expected to complete more than 30 commercial launch services yearly.