The ChinaSat series satellites are geostationary communications satellites, mainly used for television broadcasting and data transmission. Their service scope covers the entire country, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Australia, Europe, Africa and other regions. The ChinaSat series satellites are now operated by China Satellite Communications Group, and were originally operated by China Communications and Broadcasting Satellite Corporation, a subsidiary of the former Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. (11) ChinaSat 1C On December 9, 2015, ChinaSat 1C was launched from the LC-3 launch station of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center aboard the Long March 3B/G3 carrier rocket. ChinaSat 1C, also known as Fenghuo 2C (FH 2C), was developed by the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology. It has a mass of 5320 kg, a design life of 11 years, and an international satellite identifier of 2015-073A. The relevant parameters are as follows:
Orbital eccentricity: 0.0005125
Orbital inclination: 5.9880°
Perigee height: 36076 km
Apogee altitude: 36120 km
Right Ascension of Ascending Node:74.0505°
Perigee argument: 179.0594°
Number of Earth circles per day: 0.99168860
(12) ChinaSat 15 On January 15, 2016, ChinaSat 15 was launched from the LC-3 launch station of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center aboard the Long March 3B/G2 carrier rocket. ChinaSat 15 is a satellite jointly developed by my country and Belarus. It was developed by the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology and uses the Dongfanghong 4 satellite platform. It has a mass of 5223 kg and a design life of 15 years. The international satellite identifier is 2016-001A. ChinaSat 15 is fixed at 51.5° east longitude and provides 20 C-band and 18 Ku-band transponders. The C-band beam can cover Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and the Ku-band beam can cover West Africa, Central Africa and East Africa, providing broadcasting, communications, telecommunications ports and data center services to the above areas. The relevant parameters are as follows: Orbital eccentricity: 0.0001318 Orbital inclination: 0.0239° Perigee altitude: 35781 km Apogee altitude: 35792 km Ascending node right ascension: 47.3698° Perigee argument: 209.7324° Daily number of Earth orbits: 1.00270807 (13) Zhongxing 16 On April 12, 2017, ChinaSat 16 was launched from the LC-2 launch station of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center aboard the Long March 3B/G2 carrier rocket. ChinaSat 16 was developed by the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology, using the Dongfanghong 3B satellite platform, with a mass of 4,600kg and a design life of 15 years. ChinaSat 16 is fixed at 110.5 degrees east longitude and provides 26 user beams, which can cover central, central and western my country, the east, the south, the Lhasa region and my country’s offshore waters. It can be used in distance education, medical care, Internet access, airborne and ship communications, emergency communications and other fields. The relevant parameters are as follows:
Orbital eccentricity: 0.0005223
Orbital inclination: 0.0389°
Perigee altitude: 35764 km
Apogee altitude: 35808 km
Right ascension of ascending node: 88.5321°
Perigee argument: 172.0671°
Number of Earth circles per day: 1.00271378
(14) Zhongxing 6C
On March 9, 2019, ChinaSat 6C was launched from the LC-3 launch station of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center aboard the Long March 3B/G3 carrier rocket. ChinaSat 6C was developed by the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology. The platform uses the Dongfanghong-4 satellite platform independently developed by the Fifth Academy. There are 25 C-band transponders designed on the satellite, which can cover my country and surrounding areas, Australia, New Zealand and other South Pacific regions. The design life of ChinaSat 6C is 15 years. However, due to a failure of the satellite thruster, the satellite control subsystem works in a thruster under-configuration and reorganization state, resulting in an increase in propellant consumption and a reduction in the remaining life of the satellite. Satellite Communications Company made a preliminary estimate based on the expected service life of Vitex 6C, and estimated that it would accrue an asset impairment loss of approximately 260 million yuan. The relevant parameters of Zhongxing 6C are as follows: Orbital eccentricity: 0.0005708 Orbital inclination: 0.0597° Perigee altitude: 35762 km Apogee altitude: 35810 km Ascending node right ascension: 68.8691° Perigee argument: 310.3714° Daily number of Earth orbits: 1.00271387 (15) ChinaSat 18 On August 19, 2019, ChinaSat 18 was launched from the LC-2 launch station of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center aboard the Long March 3B/G2 carrier rocket. ChinaSat 18 was developed by the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology. It has a design life of 15 years and the international satellite identifier is 2019-053A. The relevant parameters are as follows: Orbital eccentricity: 0.6557431 Orbital inclination: 28.4915° Perigee altitude: 150 km Apogee altitude: 25021 km Ascending node right ascension: 306.3532° Perigee argument: 231.8018° Daily number of Earth orbits: 3.32433841 (16) Zhongxing 2E On August 5, 2021, ChinaSat 2E was launched from the LC-2 launch station of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center aboard the Long March 3B/G3 carrier rocket. ChinaSat 2E was developed by the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology, and its international satellite identifier is 2021-071A. The relevant parameters are as follows:
Orbital eccentricity: 0.0001482
Orbital inclination: 0.0370°
Perigee altitude: 35780 km
Apogee altitude: 35792 km
Right Ascension of Ascending Node: 325.0145°
Perigee argument: 148.3734°
Number of Earth circles per day: 1.00272603
(17) Zhongxing 9B
On September 9, 2021, ChinaSat 9B was launched from the LC-2 launch station of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on the Long March 3B/G2(2) carrier rocket. ChinaSat 9B was developed by the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology, using the Dongfanghong-4 enhanced satellite platform. There are 25 Ku-BSS band transponders designed on the satellite, with a mass of 5,500kg and a design life of 15 years. Zhongxing 9B is fixed at 101.4° east longitude. The relevant parameters are as follows: Orbital eccentricity: 0.0001811 Orbital inclination: 0.0179° Perigee altitude: 35779 km Apogee altitude: 35794 km Ascending node right ascension: 230.4729° Perigee argument: 113.2665° Daily number of Earth orbits: 1.00270674 (18) Zhongxing 1D On November 26, 2021, ChinaSat 1D was launched from the LC-2 launch station of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on the Long March 3B/G3 carrier rocket. ChinaSat 1D, also known as FH 2D, was developed by the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology. It has a mass of 5320kg, a design life of 11 years, and an international satellite identifier of 2021-114A. The relevant parameters are as follows: Orbital eccentricity: 0.0002181
Orbital inclination: 0.0445°
Perigee height: 35776 km
Apogee altitude: 35795 km
Right ascension of ascending node: 284.0267°
Argument of perigee: 290.5228°
Number of Earth circles per day: 1.00273613
