Launch of Shijian 20 lights up Chinese skies and exploration ambitions
The third Long March 5 with the Shijian 5 satellite lifts off from the Wenchang Launch Site 1. Image Credit: CCTV
China put the pin in its 2019 launch manifest by sending the Shijian-20 communications satellite into high-Earth orbit. This relatively routine flight could herald the opening of a bold new era in Chinese space exploration.
Shijian 20 is based off of the DFH-5 satellite platform. A newer design, the satellite is capable of producing an estimated 18 kilowatts of payload power. It also sports a larger truss and advanced electronics. The spacecraft is safe in a very high orbit, approximately 22,369 miles (36,000 kilometers).
The launch of the Shijian-20 marked only the third time that the Long March 5 has flown the Chinese skies. The Friday, Dec. 27 flight was announced by the Chinese News Agency after it had been determined the mission’s objective had been successfully accomplished. The Long March 5 lifted off from the Wenchang launch site located on Hainan island at 8:45 p.m. EST (1245 GMT).
In 2019 China led the world in launches with some 34 additional launch “notches” on its belt. By comparison, the United States completed 27.
The Shijian 20 satellite. Photo Credit: CCTV
The Long March 5 was first launched in November of 2016 and is estimated to be able of hefting as much as 25 tons of payload to orbit. While powerful, the rocket doesn’t have the best track record. Money woes and technical issues delayed the rocket’s inaugural flight. Its second flight ended in failure with the loss of the Shijian 18 satellite. Long March rockets are “coded,” the vehicle that launched Shijian 20 was listed as Long March-5 Y3.
While NASA astronauts cannot travel beyond Earth’s atmosphere without expensive help from Mother Russia, China has been working to send its “taikonauts” to the nation’s Chinese Space Station (CSS) which could be on orbit as soon as 2022. While this in-and-of itself would be a major milestone, the communist nation isn’t stopping with a manned station.
China has ambitions beyond low-Earth orbit. It has the Moon in its sights – once again. The Chang’e-5 the follow-on to its highly-successful Chang’e-4 planned to touch down on the Moon next year. The timing of the Chang’e-5 mission was thrown off when things went “wrong” during the 2017 Long March 5 launch.
Despite this minor setback, China is still working toward pushing forward to Mars. The Long March 5 is a large part of the nation’s ambitions as it has set its eyes toward the Red Planet.
Video courtesy of SciNews
Tagged: #fatfive China China National Space Administration Lead Stories Long March 5 Mars Moon Shijian 20 shijian_20
SpaceFlight Insider is a space journal working to break the pattern of bias prevalent among other media outlets. Working off a budget acquired through sponsors and advertisers, SpaceFlight Insider has rapidly become one of the premier space news outlets currently in operation. SFI works almost exclusively with the assistance of volunteers.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
document.getElementById(comment).setAttribute( id, a8a7bcceffeaa46ee8d9f431ed627740 );document.getElementById(d6fdb4c9bf).setAttribute( id, comment );
Name *
Email *
Website
Notify me of follow-up comments by email.
Notify me of new posts by email.
© 2013 - 2023 Spaceflight Insider. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Privacy Policy.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category Analytics. |
| cookielawinfo-checbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category Functional. |
| cookielawinfo-checbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category Other. |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category Necessary. |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category Performance. |
| viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.