T-1 minute. Launch should be happening in next minute or so.
And that's all folks! Thanks anyway to RocketGyan for the livestream.
View just after launch and wide view from the beach.
So they are Shiyan 12 01 and 02.
The two SY-12 satellites are described as “2 3 t class satellites built by CAST for spatial environment detection & related testing”.
A Chinese equivalent of the USSF GSSAP satellites maybe?
https://m.weibo.cn/status/L7oUgqkaZ
And now the question is, are the satellites really related to the HOTS mission, or is this something else?
And now the question is, are the satellites really related to the HOTS mission, or is this something else?
I believe the HOTS name itself was a fiction, and these two birds are probably intended for a GEO mission.
And now the question is, are the satellites really related to the HOTS mission, or is this something else?
It could be a replacement of the failed Shiyan 9 mission.
Chinese GSSAP sounds logical.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/20211223/656371f520924c9592f95cd077588a28/c.htmlWENCHANG, Hainan, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- China launched a Long March-7A rocket to place two satellites in space on Thursday.
The rocket blasted off at 6:12 p.m. (Beijing Time) at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in southern Hainan Province and soon sent Shiyan-12 01 and Shiyan-12 02 satellites into preset orbit.
Shiyan means "experiment" in Chinese. Developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the pair of satellites will do space environment surveys and other related technology tests, the state-owned company said in a statement.
As a modified version of the Long March-7 rocket, the launch vehicle represents the new generation of China's medium-sized high-orbit rocket.
It has three stages and a total length of 60.7 meters, making the Long March-7A the tallest rocket in service in China.
With four 2.25m-diameter additional boosters, the liquid-fueled rocket can send a payload of 7 tonnes to geosynchronous transfer orbit, about 36,000 km above the Earth's equator.
The mission marked the 402nd flight of the Long March carrier rockets.
And now the question is, are the satellites really related to the HOTS mission, or is this something else?
It could be a replacement of the failed Shiyan 9 mission.
Chinese GSSAP sounds logical.
Shiyan 9 mission failed ?
Orbits for satellites look like GTO:
2021-129A/50321 in 189 x 35779 km x 19.53° (SY-12A)
2021-129B/50322 in 187 x 35752 km x 19.54° (SY-12B)
2021-129C/50323 in 120 x 34716 km x 19.54° (upper stage)
And now the question is, are the satellites really related to the HOTS mission, or is this something else?
It could be a replacement of the failed Shiyan 9 mission.
Chinese GSSAP sounds logical.
Shiyan 9 mission failed ?
That is my guess.
The satellite is currently still in 502x35790 km orbit.