On 7 May, the mainland successfully launched the Long March-6C carrier rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, carrying the Neptune-01 satellite, the Zhixing-1C satellite, the wide-format optical satellite and the high-resolution video satellite into the predetermined orbit, and the flight test mission was a complete success. This mission is the first flight of the Long March-6C launch vehicle, marking a new addition to the Long March rocket family and further improving the spectrum of the mainland's next-generation Long March series launch vehicles.
At 11:21 a.m. on 7 May, the mainland successfully launched the Long March-6C carrier rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, carrying the Neptune-01 satellite, the Zhixing-1C satellite, the wide-format optical satellite and the high-resolution video satellite into the predetermined orbit, and the flight test mission was a complete success. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Zheng Bin)
The Long March-6C launch vehicle launched this time is a new generation of liquid launch vehicle for the future commercial launch market, which is developed by the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The rocket adopts a single-core stage two-stage configuration, with a diameter of 3.35 meters for the first sub-stage and two liquid oxygen kerosene engines with a thrust of 120 tons, and a liquid oxygen kerosene engine with a thrust of 18 tons for the second stage with a diameter of 2.9 meters. The total length of the whole rocket is about 43 meters, the take-off weight of the whole rocket is about 215 tons, and the carrying capacity of the 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit is about 2.4 tons.
Xinhua News Agency (photo by Wang Zenghe)
In the face of the increasing demand for satellite launches, choosing a carrier rocket with "high reliability, high cost performance, strong adaptability and fast response" is a common requirement for users for commercial launch services.
The Long March-6C launch vehicle is the first innovative use of AAC (adaptive augmentation control) technology in the field of mainland launch vehicles to achieve precise control of the attitude of the launch vehicle, and promote the rocket control system to move towards autonomy and intelligence.
"The rocket's adaptive augmentation control technology can be simply understood as intelligent driving, which automatically adjusts the steering wheel and throttle by judging the road status, passengers' comfort experience and other factors, so as to realize automatic control of speed and direction, ensure safe and stable driving, and take into account the passenger experience." Hu Cunming, a rocket expert from the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, said.
In addition, the R&D team also newly developed a lightweight tank to "slim down" the rocket. For the first time, the Long March-6C launch vehicle uses a 2.9-meter foam sandwich co-bottom tank with a large temperature difference, which reduces the "dead weight" of the rocket while carrying as much fuel as possible by reducing the excess space between the two tanks, further improving the structural efficiency of the rocket and enhancing the carrying capacity of the rocket.
Different from the previous national launch missions, the diversified launch needs of the commercial market often bring more variables. "De-tasking" is the answer given by the Long March-6C launch vehicle development team.
The so-called "de-tasking" is to maximize the state of the unified product, first create a "standard rocket" that can adapt to the requirements of multiple tasks and can be put into production in rolling batches, and after the later launch mission is clear, it can carry out adaptive "installation and improvement" on the "standard rocket" in accordance with the requirements of satellite support.
"It's like the standard and optional configuration when we buy electronic products," said Yu Yansheng, a rocket expert from the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, adding that through the "de-tasking" model, the mission adaptability and flexibility of the Long March-6C launch vehicle can be effectively improved to meet the needs of high-frequency, high-density launches in the commercial space market.
Xinhua News Agency (photo by Zheng Bin)
The four satellites launched this mission are a "carpooling" launch mission carried out by the Long March-6C carrier rocket through commercial bidding, and it is also the first public auction for the launch service of the Long March series of carrier rockets in mainland China. (Reporter Song Chen)
Source: Xinhua News Agency