China successfully launched the Fengyun-3D weather satellite into a polar orbit on Tuesday, along with the first satellite for private Chinese company Head Aerospace.
The Long March 4C rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 9 at Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in Shanxi Province at 02:35 November 15 local time, sending the Fengyun-3D towards a circular Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of over 800 km.
Fengyun-3D is the fourth satellite of the second generation of Chinese polar-orbiting meteorological satellites, carrying instruments for sounding, imaging, radiation and humidity, and detecting space weather.
The 2450 kg Fengyun-3D, with one solar panel mounted on one side of the satellite, will be operated by the China Meteorological Administration and National Satellite Meteorological Centre and will help provide meteorological forecasts as well as contribute to ocean, ice and climate monitoring, and atmospheric chemistry and space weather studies.
The launch was the first for the three-stage Long March 4C since an issue resulted in the Gaofen-10 Earth observation satellite failing to reach orbit on August 31, 2016, shortly before a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the pad.
The rocket, designed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, has now been successful with 20 of 21 launches, with the first taking place on April 26, 2006.
The mission also carried the HEAD-1 45 kg microsatellite for HEAD Aerospace, which is equipped with an Automatic Identification System for maritime use. The 2-3 year mission is part of plans for HEAD to establish a constellation of 30 satellites.
Named 'Skywalker', the constellation will be made up of various satellites carrying data collection, maritime, and Earth observation payloads in low Earth and Sun-synchronous orbits.
