The first of two scientific satellites known as Double Star was
blasted off into orbit early this morning from the Xichang
Satellite Launch Center in southwest China.
The launch marked the beginning of substantial China-Europe
collaboration in geospace exploration. It also capped a bonanza
year of space activities in China, which saw a record six
satellites and a manned spacecraft fly into orbits between May and
December.
The Equatorial-orbiting satellite of the Double Star Program was
launched at 3:06 am yesterday atop Long March 2C/SM rocket, said a
spokesman at the Xichang center.
An improved version of the Long March 2C, the Long March 2C/SM
contains multiple technological breakthroughs to ensure a steady
rocket attitude-adjusting system and higher reliability, said the
spokesman.
At 3:18 am, the satellite, Probe-1 or TC-1, was sent into its
preset elliptical orbit ranging from 555 kilometers and 78,051
kilometers from the Earth, making it the farthest operational
spacecraft China has ever catapulted into space, according to the
spokesman.
Extending his congratulations to Chinese scientists, David
Southwood, director of Scientific Program of the European Space
Agency (ESA), said the launch will herald further international
co-operation between China and Europe in space exploration.
"The year 2003 is a year of miracles for China," he said. "We'll
see what we could do together after this launch."
Probe-1 is expected to fly for one and a half years in space to
study the effects of the Sun on the Earth's environment, and in
particular the 'magnetotail,' where storms of high-energy particles
are generated, according to Zhang Yongwei, chief engineer of the
Double Star project.
The launch was the 75th flight of Chinese made Long March
rockets. It is also the country's 33rd straight successful space
mission since 1996.
"The successful launch of Probe-1 has further testified the
reliability and progress of China's space technology," said Zhang
Qingwei, President of the China Aerospace Technology Corp.
Probe-1 was designed and developed jointly by Chinese Academy of
Space technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and eight European
institutions.
The "equatorial" satellite will be followed by a polar-range
satellite (Probe-2), which is scheduled to be launched in June from
the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in North China's Shanxi
Province, according to Zhang.
The project was initiated by Chinese scientist Liu Zhenxing in
1997. It has drawn keen interest from the international geophysics
community.
ESA is contributing to this Double Star mission by providing
eight on-board scientific instruments -- five on Probe-1 and three
on Probe-2. It is the first time Chinese hardware and the European
equipment are wired together, Liu said.
By combining the Double Star satellites and the mini-flotilla of
four identical spacecraft the European agency launched in 2000 in
its Cluster II Program, scientists will for the first time in
history be able to probe space from a six-dimensional perspective,
Liu said.
(China Daily December 30, 2003)