China launches new satellite with record-breaking blast-off

A Long March-4C rocket carrying the Yaogan-33 03 satellite blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Sept. 7, 2023. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

JIUQUAN, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- China sent a new remote sensing satellite into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Thursday, setting a new record for launch efficiency in the process.

The satellite, Yaogan-33 03, was launched by a Long March-4C (LM-4C) carrier rocket at 2:14 a.m. (Beijing Time) and has entered the planned orbit successfully.

It will be used for scientific experiments, land-resource surveys, crop-yield estimation, and disaster prevention and relief.

This was the 486th flight mission of the Long March series carrier rockets.

The launch also marked the 35th anniversary of the maiden flight of the LM-4 series rocket.

On Sept. 7, 1988, an LM-4A carrier rocket placed the Fengyun-1 satellite into space, signalling the country's ability to send satellites into sun-synchronous orbit.

The LM-4 rockets are capable of launching various types of satellites with different orbit requirements and can send one satellite or multiple satellites into orbit on a single launch with a carrying capacity of three tonnes at the sun-synchronous circular orbit.

Thirty-five years on, the launch process of the LM-4 rockets has been significantly shortened, and it set a new record on Thursday with all test and launch work completed within 15 days.

Hong Liang, a designer of the LM-4C carrier rocket control system, said the integration of digitalized management measures and automated tools has boosted the work efficiency and quality management of the series rockets.

In the past, Hong added, it took four people two weeks to complete the design work of attitude control system parameters, while now, with the introduction of the whole process automatic control design platform software, it takes one person one week.

The test team is now applying the digitalized management system in the rocket development and test work, said Zhang Baizheng, a designer of the LM-4C carrier rocket.

Compared with the conventional method, the new digitalized system makes it possible to trace the test data and realize real-time data transmission, thus greatly enhancing the test efficiency and optimizing the test process, according to Zhang.