At 7:44 today, the Long March 4 Cyao 29 rocket was ignited and lifted off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, successfully sending the land exploration No. 1 Group 01 A satellite into the predetermined orbit, and the launch mission was a complete success. The star arrows launched this time were all developed by the Shanghai Aerospace Technology Research Institute of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
After orbit, the Land Exploration No. 1 Group 01 A star will provide strong space technology support for geological disasters, land surveys, seismic assessments, disaster prevention and mitigation, basic surveying and mapping, forestry surveys and other fields. The satellite breaks through key technologies such as strict regression orbit design and control, fills a number of gaps in the field of continental L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, and can achieve millimeter-level deformation measurement of the earth's surface in space thousands of miles away, which is of great significance for the early identification, post-disaster assessment and rescue of geological disasters.
"Geological disasters often cause disruptions to communications and roads. For example, after the eruption of the Tonga volcano, ground communications were completely interrupted, and satellite observation data became the first-hand information of disaster relief work. Chen Junli, chief designer of the Land Exploration No. 1 01 satellite, introduced that while geological disasters occur, they are often accompanied by precipitation, clouds and other phenomena." The characteristics of radar satellites make it possible to penetrate clouds and surface vegetation to achieve all-weather, all-day, high-precision observation, which has a unique advantage in disaster monitoring. ”
Satellites are constantly orbiting in the Earth's orbit, and the differential interferometry principle requires satellites to be able to observe in the same position after multiple flights, which poses unprecedented challenges to the orbital design and control of satellites. In order to ensure the accuracy of the measurement, the research and development team innovatively adopted the three-dimensional space autonomous determination and control technology, so that the satellite return accuracy can reach the sub-meter level. When repeating observations, the control radius of the satellite orbit pipeline can be accurately controlled within 350 meters, reaching the international advanced level.
The A satellite of land exploration No. 1 Group 01 weighs about 3.2 tons, and the total area of SAR antenna is more than 33 square meters, which is currently the largest SAR satellite in orbit in China. The resolution of ground observation reaches the meter level, and the deformation measurement accuracy reaches the millimeter level.
The Long March 4 C carrier rocket is a three-stage medium-stage carrier rocket of normal temperature liquid developed by Shanghai Aerospace, with excellent performance and wide range of uses. For different types of satellites, the Long March 4 rocket can adopt flexible launch methods, with the ability to launch a variety of types of satellites with different orbital requirements, and can implement a single or multi-satellite launch.
Cang Biao, commander-in-chief of the Long March 4 series of carrier rockets, introduced that this launch mission is the opening battle of the Long March 4 series rockets in 2022, and it is also the first mission of the Changsi "redundancy improvement two" state in the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The rocket control system adopts the state of "single ten-meter optical fiber inertia group", and the whole arrow is powered by lithium-ion batteries, which realizes the miniaturization, automation and unattended measurement and control system.
The Long 4 mission adopts a mature launch site quality confirmation system, and integrates the on-site recording form and quality confirmation process into the "digital management system", so that the work can be paperless and the work progress can be grasped in real time. In addition, the test team adheres to the working day clearance system to ensure that each work is continuously promoted and completed on time, and to ensure that each pending item is closed in a timely manner.
It is the cold winter month, and the wine spring at this time is also the coldest time of the year. In view of the low-temperature launch conditions, the model team formulated a winter launch support plan in advance, and jointly took a variety of measures with the launch site system to ensure that the rocket test and launch conditions met the requirements; the test team also prepared cotton clothes, cotton hats and other cold-proof materials to provide strong logistical support for the team members.
This launch is the 86th launch of the Long March 4 series of carrier rockets, the 152nd launch of the Long March series of carrier rockets developed by Shanghai Aerospace Grasp, and the 407th launch of the Long March series of carrier rockets.