{"id":11898,"date":"2021-01-20T23:59:07","date_gmt":"2021-01-20T15:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/chinas-first-launch-of-2021-orbits-communications-satellite\/"},"modified":"2021-01-20T23:59:07","modified_gmt":"2021-01-20T15:59:07","slug":"chinas-first-launch-of-2021-orbits-communications-satellite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/chinas-first-launch-of-2021-orbits-communications-satellite\/","title":{"rendered":"China\u2019s first launch of 2021 orbits communications satellite"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
A Long March 3B rocket lifts off from the Xichang launch base with the Tiantong 1-03 satellite. Credit: CASC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Chinese Long March 3B rocket deployed the Tiantong 1-03 satellite to provide mobile communications services after a successful launch Tuesday, the first of more than 40 Chinese space missions set for liftoff in 2021.<\/p>\n

The 184-foot-tall (56-meter) Long March 3B rocket lifted off from the Xichang launch base at 11:25 a.m. EST (1625 GMT) Tuesday with the third satellite in the Tiantong 1 communications network, joining two others launched in 2016 and 2020, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., known as CASC, the primary state-owned contractor for the Chinese space program.<\/p>\n

After shedding its four strap-on liquid-fueled boosters, core stage, and a second stage in the first few minutes of the flight, the Long March 3B\u2019s hydrogen-fueled upper stage delivered the Tiantong 1-03 satellite to an on-target geostationary transfer orbit ranging between 113 miles (182 kilometers) and 22,254 miles (35,815 kilometers) in altitude.<\/p>\n

The spacecraft separated from the launcher\u2019s upper stage, and was expected to begin a series of orbit-raising maneuvers to reach a circular orbit more than 22,000 miles over the equator. Before providing communications services, the satellite will unfurl a giant antenna that will allow it to link up with users equipped with handheld terminals.<\/p>\n

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Artist\u2019s concept of the Tiantong 1-03 satellite with its solar arrays and antenna deployed. Credit: CAST<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Tiantong network is designed for S-band mobile communications services. Chinese officials said the new satellite will be used with the Tiangong 1-01 and Tiantong 1-02 satellites already in orbit, and the network will provide coverage across the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and parts of Africa.<\/p>\n

The fleet will provide \u201call-weather, all-time, stable, and reliable mobile communications services such as voice, short message, and data,\u201d according to a CASC statement.<\/p>\n

The launch was the first of more than 40 space missions scheduled for liftoff from China this year, including the first element of a Chinese space station in the next few months, followed by the launch of a supply ship to the complex, and the flight of the first astronauts to the outpost before the end of 2021.<\/p>\n

Two more space station modules will be added in 2022 to complete the initial assembly of the orbiting complex.<\/p>\n

Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Long March 3B rocket lifts off from the Xichang launch base with the Tiantong 1-03 satellite. Credit: CASC A Chinese Long March 3B rocket deployed the Tiantong 1-03 satellite to provide mobile communications services after a successful launch Tuesday, the first of more than 40 Chinese space missions set for liftoff in 2021. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[135,1907,25,205,1888,1611,1908,1909],"class_list":["post-11898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-china","tag-china-telecom","tag-launch","tag-long-march","tag-long-march-3b","tag-telecom","tag-tiantong","tag-tiantong-1"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11898"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11898\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}