China Launches Near-Earth Hunting Satellites To Space On Board Long March 2D Rocket

China has launched its first "near-Earth object hunter" satellite into orbit, joining three other spacecraft on their trip into the unknown beyond.

At 11:03 p.m. EDT, the Long March 2D rocket launched with the Yangwang-1 satellite from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China. Origin Space, a Chinese space resources firm, launched the satellite. It's China's first optical space telescope, capable of gathering visible and ultraviolet light to detect near-Earth objects.

China Space Program
(FILE PHOTO) China launches Long March 2F rocket to bring its first space lab, the Tiangong-1, to space. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

China Sends Long March 2D Rocket in Space.

The presence of white insulating panels would control the fuel's temperature as China's Long March 2D rocket took off, according to a YouTube video published by VideoFromSpace on June 11.

Origin Space's Yangwang-1 spacecraft, which is known to house the country's "first optical space telescope," is housed within the mammoth rocket. It collects the clear, ultraviolet light that is used to detect near-Earth objects approaching the planet.

In addition, the corporation is planning to construct a "treasure map" in space in the hopes of discovering additional space riches using Yangwang-1.

Origin Space has also released the NEO-1 satellite, which is best at containing minor asteroid leftovers, in the last two months. Apart from space travel, the corporation says it has plans for the NEO-2 mission to investigate the moon.


What Are The Three Satellites Attached to Long March 2D?

Beijing-3, Hisea-2, and TKSY01-TJ are the names of the other three satellites that China launched into space on Thursday.

Space.com said Twenty-First Century Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd (21AT), a commercial space business, will operate Beijing-3, a remote-sensing satellite. Beijing-3. According to the Chinese state media, these will primarily be utilized to supply data for resource surveys, environmental monitoring, fine urban management, and disaster prevention and reduction.

A subsidiary of China Academy of Space Technology (CSAT) developed the satellites. It's under China's major satellite-making arm of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the country's largest state-owned space contractor.

Hisea-2 is an optical remote-sensing satellite for Xiamen University's maritime biological environment investigations. It was created by DFH Satellite Co., Ltd, a CAST subsidiary based in Beijing. Hisea-1 was a radar remote-sensing satellite launched in December 2020 aboard the first Long March 8 rocket.

According to the China Great Wall Industry Corporation, TKSY01-TJ is a remote-sensing satellite for the Space Engineering University. The university is thought to be affiliated with the PLA Strategic Support Force (PLASSF), China's equivalent of the US Space Force.

TKSY01-TJ will be used by universities for teaching and training on in-orbit services, according to the state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua.

China launched its 17th orbital mission of 2021. According to airspace closure alerts, China aims to transport three astronauts to its Tianhe space station module in the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft late on June 16 EDT.

Check out more news and information on Space on Science Times.

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