China sent its third rocket aloft in a week on Wednesday (Oct. 12), this time to launch a satellite intended for environmental monitoring.
A radar satellite known as S-SAR01, nicknamed Huanjing-2E, flew to space atop a Long March 2C rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi province, according to Chinese state media. Liftoff happened at 6:53 p.m. EDT (2253 GMT Wednesday, or 6:53 a.m. local time on Thursday, Oct. 13).
The satellite’s 60-foot (5-meter) resolution will primarily be used for disaster relief and environmental protection, according to Xinhua (opens in new tab). Other uses will include examining resources in water, natural resources, agriculture and forestry.
The launch was China’s 45th of 2022. Last year was its busiest launch effort to date, with 55 launches performed.
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“The launch mission was a complete success,” the China National Space Administration or CNSA wrote on its website (opens in new tab), adding that the main users will be China’s Ministry of Emergency Management and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. (Translation to English was provided by Google.)
The satellite adds on to Huanjing-2A and 2B, which were two medium-resolution satellites launched in 2020 to replace a previous generation lofted into space in 2008.
The launch was the 443rd overall in the Long March series and the third from China in the last week alone. China’s Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory, nicknamed Kuafu-1, lifted off atop a Long March 2D rocket on Saturday (Oct. 8) to study solar weather. China’s space agency also lofted a pair of navigation enhancement satellites from a sea platform Friday (Oct. 7).
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