On August 5 at 16:35 UTC, a Long March 3B Gen 3 rocket launched the Chinasat 2E spacecraft to geostationary transfer orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China. Because Chinasat 2E is a military communications satellite, not much is publicly known. We do know that it operates in the Ku band and has several steerable spot beam antennas allowing communications from moving vehicles and secure uplinks.

The rocket it launched from is a little more interesting. The Long March 3B is a three-stage rocket with hypergolic first and second stages and a cryogenic hydrogen third stage. So, the first two stages were powered by the pretty but deadly combination of nitrogen tetroxide and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine. These chemicals don’t have to be kept super-cold and are stable for long periods in storage. When they combine, they combust, resulting in a characteristically ominous — and highly toxic — reddish-orange flame and smoke plume on launch. The third stage, filled with super-cold liquid hydrogen, is much safer for people and the planet but requires a lot of extra plumbing to keep the hydrogen under enough pressure and cold enough to remain a liquid.

More Information

CASC press release (Chinese)

Shen Tong 2 info page (Gunter’s Space Page)

Launch video