China Launches Communications Relay

Dec 16, 2021 | Daily Space, Rockets, Spacecraft

IMAGE: The Tianlian II-01 satellite is launched by a Long March-3B carrier rocket at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, on March 31, 2019. CREDIT: Xinhua/Guo Wenbin

On December 13 at 16:09 UTC, a Chinese Long March 3B launched the Tianlian 2-02 satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China.

The Chinese were unusually candid about what this satellite’s purpose is compared to what they say about the Yaogan series. The China National Space Administration stated that it was a communications relay satellite that will be used to send back data from crewed spacecraft, other satellites in all kinds of orbits, and from their Tiangong space station. It has a secondary goal of downlinking telemetry from launching rockets.

More Information

CASC press release

China launches new Tianlian relay satellite (Xinhua)

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