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Gaofen-2 & Heweliusz, CZ-4B TSLC - August 19, 2014
by
beidou
on 21 Apr, 2013 21:15
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This will be the second launch of the civilian high resolution satellites.
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#1
by
beidou
on 02 May, 2013 11:26
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It was reported the ground resolution of this satellite will be 1m.
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#2
by
beidou
on 23 Jul, 2013 10:45
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Likely launch in August?
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#3
by
Satori
on 22 Sep, 2013 09:02
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According to China CRESDA presentation during a recent Earth Observation conference in Paris GF-2, GF-3,GF-4, GF-5, GF-6 and GF-7 will be launched during 2013-2017 and CBERS-3 and CBERS-4 during 2013-2015.
GF-2 is planned for launch in December 2013.
The scheduled December launch of the GF-2 satellite in December is the opening salvo in China’s attempt to reclaim the high-resolution side of its domestic market as well.
GF-2 is capable of producing images with a ground sampling distance of 80 centimeters in black and white, and 3.2 meters in color. Its images have a swath width of 48 kilometers, and the satellite is capable of swiveling on its axis 35 degrees to either side, according to Zhou Zi Kuan, director of international business development at CRESDA, a unit of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.
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#4
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 07 Nov, 2013 14:57
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#5
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 08 Nov, 2013 07:47
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Per insider reports GF-2 has already arrived at Taiyuan - which is consistent with a launch date late in December.
Finally some official news about the satellite - earlier conjectures of
a CZ-4B being used, that the Polish cubesat BRITE-PL-2 is hitchhiking on the same rocket, and that this launch is the final Chinese launch of the year have all been confirmed. The GF-2 satellite will have a lifetime of about 5-8 years.
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#6
by
Skyrocket
on 08 Nov, 2013 08:16
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#7
by
astropl
on 21 Nov, 2013 07:31
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According to Polish Radio info launch date of Heweliusz is Dec, 30th between 02:00 and 05:00 UTC.
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#8
by
Satori
on 09 Dec, 2013 09:52
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Should we expect a delay on this launch because of the CBERS-3 failed launch due to the launcher problem?
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#9
by
Nighthawk
on 09 Dec, 2013 21:48
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Should we expect a delay on this launch because of the CBERS-3 failed launch due to the launcher problem?
Definitely - Since the workhorses are of the same type, they will not return to flight until explicit conclusion of the failure was reached.
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#10
by
astropl
on 03 Feb, 2014 14:45
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#11
by
astropl
on 27 Feb, 2014 19:03
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#12
by
grysor
on 01 Mar, 2014 18:27
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when the launch ?
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#13
by
beidou
on 04 Mar, 2014 19:33
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#14
by
astropl
on 03 Jun, 2014 12:42
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July, 1st - unofficial launch date.
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#15
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 04 Jun, 2014 08:59
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#16
by
Satori
on 16 Jun, 2014 11:19
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According to the countdown clock available at
http://www.brite-pl.pl/, launch time will be around 0430UTC on July 10.
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#17
by
Satori
on 16 Jun, 2014 18:16
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Well, the launch is now schedule for mid-August.
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#18
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 16 Jun, 2014 18:20
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Well, the launch is now schedule for mid-August.
Is that from your own sources?
Maybe SAST is still clearing up shop....
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#19
by
Satori
on 16 Jun, 2014 18:47
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Well, the launch is now schedule for mid-August.
Is that from your own sources? Maybe SAST is still clearing up shop....
Yes, and from a very reliable one.
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#20
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 18 Jun, 2014 10:54
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#21
by
astropl
on 04 Jul, 2014 19:26
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Well, the launch is now schedule for mid-August.
Unoficially - August, 19th.
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#22
by
Satori
on 23 Jul, 2014 15:52
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#23
by
Satori
on 31 Jul, 2014 11:27
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http://www.brite-pl.pl/index_en.html is reporting "
All the tests of "Heweliusz" and its dispenser "Dragon" have already been completed in CBK. Currently, the two instruments are packaged and they will start their journey from Warsaw to Chinese launch base Taiyuan on 3 August. The launch of the Polish satellite is scheduled on 19 August 2014 from Taiyuan."
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#24
by
Satori
on 09 Aug, 2014 14:32
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At the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center continue the preparations for the launch of the Polish satellite BRITE-PL-2 "Heweliusz" (CanX-3D).
The Polish satellite arrived in China on August 4.
On August 6 in the morning there was a meeting of Polish engineers with the Chinese represented by CGWIC (contractor), SAST (contractor rockets), TSLC (operator rockets) and other specialists.
The BRITE-PL-2 "Heweliusz" was to be installed on the launcher on August 9.
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#25
by
Satori
on 09 Aug, 2014 14:38
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#26
by
Satori
on 12 Aug, 2014 11:35
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BRITE-PL-2 "Heweliusz" was installed on the launcher and all the systems tested okay. Also, all the connections between the small satellite and the launcher are operating normally.
GF-2 Gaofen-2 was installed on the Dragon structure on CZ-4B on August 10.
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#27
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 13 Aug, 2014 16:59
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#28
by
Satori
on 15 Aug, 2014 21:47
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#29
by
Satori
on 15 Aug, 2014 21:48
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#30
by
input~2
on 17 Aug, 2014 19:33
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#31
by
Satori
on 18 Aug, 2014 21:24
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#32
by
russianhalo117
on 18 Aug, 2014 22:47
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#33
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 19 Aug, 2014 01:35
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#34
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 19 Aug, 2014 03:15
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Crossed T-0. Stand by for updates...
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#35
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 19 Aug, 2014 03:26
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Nothing seen yet at T+10 minutes....
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#36
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 19 Aug, 2014 03:38
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Well, even the Polish people are still waiting....
2014/08/19 11:36
Polish BRITE-PL team is still waiting for a acknowledgement of the Chang Zheng 4B lift-off. We are trying to follow Chinese news provider which might mention about the lift-off.
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#37
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 19 Aug, 2014 03:41
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Ah:
2014/08/19 11:39
"We have a confirmation from China, that "Heweliusz" satellite is on Earth's orbit" - BRITE-PL team says.
Stand by for official announcement...
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#38
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 19 Aug, 2014 03:49
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#39
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 19 Aug, 2014 04:33
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About GF-2: This is China's first (at least on the civilian side
) Earth observation satellite that reaches sub-meter resolution (see earlier posts in the thread for the parameters) - someone may be able to check when did other countries like the USA or France reached that milestone years ago.
Some information about the launch from today's launch director Fan Hongtuan:
- The launch used CZ-4B s/n Y27
- After separating GF-2 towards the nadir side, the 3rd stage pitched to -55 degrees to release BRITE-PL2
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#40
by
northenarc
on 19 Aug, 2014 05:06
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Fantastic shot at the moment of ignition there.
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#41
by
Chris Bergin
on 19 Aug, 2014 05:28
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#42
by
Artyom.
on 19 Aug, 2014 08:38
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From Xinhua in English:
China launches HD Earth observation satellite
China successfully launched a high-definition Earth observation satellite into orbit on Tuesday, according to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND).
The Gaofen-2 was launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province at 11:15 a.m. Beijing Time. It was boosted by a Long March-4B carrier rocket.
It is China's most advanced high-definition Earth observation satellite, and is able to see a one-meter-long object in full color.
It will be used for geographic and resources surveys, environment and climate change monitoring, precision agriculture, disaster relief and city planning.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2014-08/19/c_133568148.htm
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#43
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 19 Aug, 2014 09:08
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#44
by
Lewis007
on 19 Aug, 2014 14:20
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Two YouTube videos for those (like me) who have difficulty in playing and recording the clips in the previous post.
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#45
by
input~2
on 19 Aug, 2014 14:25
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A second object has been catalogued by USSTRATCOM
2014-049B/40119 in 610 x 632 km x 98.02°
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#46
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 19 Aug, 2014 15:00
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For the record, the exact launch time is 03:15:04.947 UTC.
(Source)The Chinese are touting GF-2's 45 km imaging swath (thanks to its twin 7 m focal length telescopes design and 35 degrees angular movement capability) as being the widest imaging swath satellite of its class in the world - which after consulting data from comparable satellites seems to be true (e.g. WorldView-2 and Geoeye-1 has imaging swaths of around 15-16 km; even the more agile Pleiades-1 only gets to 20 km). GF-2 also plans to have a longer lifetime - a minimum of 5 years and targeting 8 years.
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#47
by
input~2
on 19 Aug, 2014 15:22
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#48
by
northenarc
on 19 Aug, 2014 16:37
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Guess motorized transporters are not a priority, only 9,990 Kilograms.
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#49
by
russianhalo117
on 19 Aug, 2014 16:45
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For the record, the exact launch time is 03:15:04.947 UTC. (Source)
The Chinese are touting GF-2's 45 km imaging swath (thanks to its twin 7 m focal length telescopes design and 35 degrees angular movement capability) as being the widest imaging swath satellite of its class in the world - which after consulting data from comparable satellites seems to be true (e.g. WorldView-2 and Geoeye-1 has imaging swaths of around 15-16 km; even the more agile Pleiades-1 only gets to 20 km). GF-2 also plans to have a longer lifetime - a minimum of 5 years and targeting 8 years.
do you mind PMing that to Satori so that he can update the launch schedule.
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#50
by
Yarrah
on 19 Aug, 2014 22:34
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An interesting presentation about the operator of the GaoFen series (EOSDC-CNSA) and the rest of the GaoFen constellation.
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#51
by
input~2
on 20 Aug, 2014 11:52
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A third and fourth objects have been catalogued by USSTRATCOM:
2014-049C/40120 in 602 x 633 km x 98.04°
2014-049D/40121 in 353 x 613 km x 98.12°
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#52
by
input~2
on 20 Aug, 2014 12:51
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#53
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 21 Aug, 2014 10:46
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#54
by
jcm
on 22 Aug, 2014 01:54
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#55
by
limen4
on 20 Sep, 2014 15:50
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Some more information behind the launch and GF-2 (in Chinese):
http://www.spacechina.com/n25/n144/n206/n214/c736667/content.html
http://www.spacechina.com/n25/n144/n206/n214/c736197/content.html
The first of these talks about working on the satellite at the site rather than shipping it back to Beijing - a detail which
suggests that the CS-L3000A bus is a CAST bus, something I had not seen confirmed before.
Do we know dimensions and mass of the satellite?
I looked for Ma Shijun, the leading engineer of the GF-2 mission in Internet. He is from CAST 501 institute and was involved in ZY-1 and HY-2 satellite design. Therefore It seems possible that the CS-L3000A bus is the formerly known Phoenix Eye bus.
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#56
by
Liss
on 20 Sep, 2014 20:15
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I looked for Ma Shijun, the leading engineer of the GF-2 mission in Internet. He is from CAST 501 institute and was involved in ZY-1 and HY-2 satellite design. Therefore It seems possible that the CS-L3000A bus is the formerly known Phoenix Eye bus.
He was commander (project manager) for the CBERS-2B and chief designer for ZY-1 №02C, both probably based on Phoenix Eye-1 platform (as opposite for Phoenix Eye-2 used in ZY-2 and ZY-3 even if now these designations are obsolete). By the way, Phoenix Eye is 凤眼 (Fengyan).
My personal hypotesis is that GF-2 combined ZY-2/ZY-3 platform with Yaogan 14 (JB-10) optical system. If the latter provides 0.80 m resolution from 628 km it would provide 0.60 m from 475 km which is quite a reasonable level. It also matches nicely with number of orbits to repeat track, distances between tracks and swath width.
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#57
by
input~2
on 28 Sep, 2014 15:33
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#58
by
Galactic Penguin SST
on 29 Sep, 2014 11:07
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#59
by
Satori
on 30 Sep, 2014 21:51
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#60
by
Satori
on 06 Mar, 2015 18:39
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Maybe SAST is still clearing up shop....
) Earth observation satellite that reaches sub-meter resolution (see earlier posts in the thread for the parameters) - someone may be able to check when did other countries like the USA or France reached that milestone years ago.