CASC - China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation logo.
June 5, 2018
Image above: A Long March 3A lifts off June 6 from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre with Fengyun-2H weather satellite. Image Credit: CASC.
China on Tuesday launched the Fengyun-2H weather satellite, successfully inserting the near 1.4-metric-ton spacecraft into a geostationary-transfer orbit.
Fengyun-2H launched by Long March-3A rocket
The Long March 3A launch vehicle lifted off from Launch Complex 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China at 09:07 a.m. Eastern, in accordance with airspace closure notices published days in advance.
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced success of the launch just under an hour after liftoff.
Fengyun-2H satellite. Image Credit: CASC
Fengyun-2H is the eighth and final of the Fengyun-2 series of spin-stabilized weather satellites for geostationary orbit, development of which began in the 1980s under CASC.
The satellite is equipped with a Stretched Visible and Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer (S-VISSR) for multi-purpose weather satellite imagery, a Space Environment Monitor (SEM), a Solar X-ray Monitor (SXM) and Data Collection Service (DCS).
Fengyun-2H is designed with a lifetime of at least four years and will be positioned at 79 degrees East, after on-orbit testing at 86.5 degrees East. It will be operated by the National Satellite Meteorological Center (NSMC) of the China Meteorological Administration (CMA).
For more information about China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC): http://english.spacechina.com/n16421/index.html
Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: CASC/Spacenews.com/Andrew Jones.
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