U.S. Space Force cataloged the satellites<\/a> in 1,000 by 1,010-kilometer-altitude orbits inclined 99.7 degrees, while the upper stage was left in an 834 by 990 km orbit.<\/p>\n Many Shiyan satellites operate in low Earth or near-polar orbits, though a number have headed to geosynchronous orbits, including the possible inspector satellites Shiyan12-01 and 02. Shiyan-10 satellites<\/a>, meanwhile, entered Molniya orbits.<\/p>\n The 50-meter-long, 530-metric-ton Long March 6A, developed by SAST, is the first and so far only Chinese launcher to bundle a liquid propellant core stage with solid propellant side boosters. It is capable of launching 4,500 kilograms of payload to a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit. It has a dedicated pad at Taiyuan spaceport.<\/p>\n The rocket has now flown 11 times, having had its debut flight in March 2022. All launches have been successful, though some of the upper stages disintegrated<\/a> in orbit, creating debris<\/a>. The Long March 6A upper stage is one of the first Chinese kerosene-liquid oxygen upper stages.<\/p>\n SAST states that Friday\u2019s launch was the first time the Long March 6A used \u201cmulti-satellite wall-mounted deployment.\u201d indicating that satellites were mounted around a central load-bearing structure, rather than being stacked vertically. This approach brought increased challenges in terms of satellite-rocket integration, according to SAST.<\/p>\n The launch was China\u2019s 20th orbital launch attempt of 2025. It follows the launch of the classified TJS-17 satellite<\/a> via a Long March 3B from Xichang, April 10. Slingshot Aerospace has since detected a likely apogee kick motor near geostationary orbit, following a similar profile to the earlier TJS-15 launch.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8 Slingshot Orbital Alert: New Activity from Chinese TJS-17 Satellite in GEO \ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n Overnight, Slingshot Aerospace observed a significant event in geostationary orbit (GEO): an object we assess to be TJS-17, a Chinese satellite, has released a secondary object.<\/p>\n In the below video,\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/2psNp8PGAM<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Slingshot Aerospace (@sling_shot_aero) April 15, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n China is also preparing to launch the Shenzhou-20 crewed mission via a Long March 2F rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, northwest China, next week. The six-month-long mission will be followed by Shenzhou-21 late in the year.<\/p>\n Another major mission will see the launch of the Tianwen-2<\/a> near-Earth asteroid sample return and main belt comet rendezvous mission. That mission is expected to launch from Xichang in May.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t\n
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