On June 18 at 06:30 UTC, a Chinese Long March 2C launched the Yaogan-30 09 mission from the Xīchāng Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China.

This was the ninth group of three Yaogan 30 satellites launched for this constellation, with previous batches going up every few months since mid-2017.  Like many Chinese satellite launches, there wasn’t a lot of detail about the payloads publically shared by Chinese media. What we do know is that these satellites are launched in groups of three and that their name, “Yaogan”, translates to “remote observing.” The China Academy of Space Technology stated that they “will be mainly used to carry out electromagnetic environment detection and related technical tests.”

Also onboard was Tianqi-14, a satellite that will provide Internet Of Things connectivity for the private company Guodian Gaoke. Tianqui-14 weighs about 50kg – that’s 25 two-liter soda bottles –and also contains a small camera for education.

More Information

CAST press release (Chinese)

CASC press release (Chinese)

Tianqi info page (Gunter’s Space Page)

Launch video