China launches Long March 4B rocket with Yaogan 28 satellite
A Long March 4B rocket carrying the Yaogan 28 satellite blasts off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on Nov. 8, 2015. Photo Credit: Guo Yu / Xinhua
China conducted a secretive launch on Sunday, November 8, 2015, lofting the Yaogan 28 satellite into orbit. A Long March 4B rocket carrying the satellite lifted off at 2:06 a.m. EST (07:06 GMT) from the Launch Complex 9 at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, located in Shanxi Province, north China.
A Long March 4B rocket carrying the Yaogan 28 satellite blasts off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on Nov. 8, 2015. Photo Credit: Xinhua / Guo Yu
Like many other Chinese launches, there was no prior announcement that the mission was set for liftoff. Nor was any prior notice was given by the state-run media outlets.
China’s Xinhua news agency stated that the Yaogan 28 satellite will be used for experiments, land surveys, crop yield estimates, and disaster relief.
Western observers believe that this spacecraft is a military-operated Earth-imaging satellite. The “Yaogan” designation could be a means to hide its true nature.
With scant information being provided about its capabilities, little is known about Yaogan 28. The satellite was built by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) and is based on the Phoenix Eye-2 platform. The spacecraft is capable of high-resolution observation and also carries an infrared payload. It could be using an electronic intelligence (ELINT) system, electro-optical and synthetic aperture radar sensing equipment.
Data released by the Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) indicate that the Yaogan 28 satellite was put into a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at an altitude of approximately 300 miles (483 kilometers), inclined 97 degrees.
The first satellite in the Yaogan series was launched on April 26, 2006, by a Long March 4B booster, from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. It was China’s first space-based synthetic aperture radar spacecraft.
The three-stage Long March 4B carrier rocket employed for Sunday’s launch is China’s long-serving booster, designed to deliver satellites into low Earth (LEO) and Sun-synchronous orbits. The 150 feet tall launch vehicle is in service for over 16 years and has conducted 26 missions, only one of them was unsuccessful.
With a mass of 249 tonnes, the Long March 4B booster is capable of delivering up to 4.2 tonnes to LEO, 2.8 tonnes to SSO, and 1.5 tonnes to a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). The rocket’s first stage is 91.5 feet (28 meters) long and has 11 feet (3 meters) in diameter. It is powered by four YF-20 engines. The second stage, 35 feet (11 meters) long and 11 feet (3 meters) in diameter, is equipped with one YF-22C main engine and four YF-23C vernier engines. The 49 feet (15 meters) long third stage is 9.5 feet (3 meters) in diameter and is powered by two YF-40 engines.
With the flight of Yaogan 28, China continues its busy year of launches. So far, the country launched 14 space missions this year – only Russia and the U.S. have sent more missions aloft in 2015. China plans at least three more launches by the end of the year, but it could perform more as many of them are unannounced.
Sunday’s liftoff was the 217th mission for the Long March family of boosters. It was also the second launch of the Long March 4B this year and the fourth liftoff from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in 2015.
The next Chinese launch is planned for November 21, 2015, when a Long March 3B rocket is scheduled to send the LaoSat-1 communications satellite into orbit. If successful, it will be the first Laotian spacecraft sent to orbit.
Video courtesy of skymeo.com
Tomasz Nowakowski
Tomasz Nowakowski is the owner of Astro Watch, one of the premier astronomy and science-related blogs on the internet. Nowakowski reached out to SpaceFlight Insider in an effort to have the two space-related websites collaborate. Nowakowski's generous offer was gratefully received with the two organizations now working to better relay important developments as they pertain to space exploration.
