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China launched a small experimental solar observatory on Thursday as part of a multisatellite launch aboard a 2D Long March rocket. The launch took place from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 10:51 UTC (18:51 Beijing time).
Thursday’s launch carried eleven satellites, the main payload being the Chinese Hydrogen-Alpha Solar Explorer (CHASE), which was placed in low Earth orbit at an altitude of about 517 kilometers, with an orbital period of about 94 minutes.
The 550-kilogram CHASE satellite is a precursor to China’s larger solar observation satellite, the Advanced Solar Space Observatory (ASO-S), due to launch next year. CHASE is the first satellite to be equipped for full-disk alpha-hydrogen solar spectroscopy. The spacecraft was built around a bus which should provide excellent pointing accuracy and stability.
The CHASE satellite before launch
The hydrogen-alpha wavelength is dark red and is centered at 656.28 nanometers – for comparison, visible light ranges from 400 to 700 nanometers. Observing the Sun at the hydrogen-alpha wavelength can reveal the structures, evolution, and dynamic processes associated with solar flares and filaments. Observations of hydrogen-alpha can also reveal solar wave phenomena, precursors of coronal mass ejections, and the dynamics of activity in the lower atmosphere of the Sun.
While it is possible to image the Sun at this wavelength from observatories on Earth, the light they receive can be absorbed or refracted by water molecules as it passes through the atmosphere, while a space observatory is unaffected by this and can produce a clearer picture. data without this contamination. Observations can also be made without any hindrance due to cloud cover.
Scientists will be able to combine data from CHASE with that of other spacecraft from an international fleet that monitors the Sun – which includes ASO-S, STEREO, the Solar Dynamics Observatory, IRIS, Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter – to provide a more complete picture of solar activity and dynamics. This is important because the Sun not only provides heat and light to the Earth and the solar system, but can also have very negative effects on the technology we use in everyday life through solar flares and CMEs. .
In 1859, a CME known as the Carrington event bypassed the telegraphs and caused auroral displays in lower latitudes that would not normally see the Northern Lights. A similar event today could cause serious damage to many electrical and electronic networks.
A lower mass but still powerful ejection in March 1989 caused a major power outage in Quebec and interfered with radio broadcasts and weather satellites. During this event, the Northern Lights could be seen as far south as Texas and Florida.
The Sun goes through 11-year cycles with periods of minimum and maximum activity. We are currently entering Solar Cycle 25, with increasing intensity and sunspot activity as it heads towards a solar maximum predicted for July 2025. CHASE is expected to observe the Sun for the three years of its life. of the spacecraft, helping to study our nearest star during this period of increased solar activity.
CHASE and its co-passengers are ready for launch – via CGTN
Ten other satellites joined CHASE for its launch into orbit. These include the SSS-2A 3U CubeSat, a project led by students from the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization at Shanghai Jiaotong University (APSCO) in partnership with a team from Pakistan. The CubeSat carries an optical camera, radiation monitor, ADS-B receiver, satellite navigation receiver and is equipped to communicate with other orbiting satellites as part of a constellation of APSCO satellites.
Another satellite, Tianyuan-1, was built as part of a project involving students from an elementary school in Nanjing. It is the first Chinese satellite to be built with the participation of elementary school children (an age group equivalent to that of elementary schools in the United States).
Other satellites aboard the launch included SSS-1, Orbital Atmospheric Density Sense Satellite, Commercial Weather Observation Satellite, Jinzijing-2, LEO Navigation Augmentation Test Satellite, Test Satellite of traffic, Hede II-E and Hede II-F.
Thursday’s launch took place from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, a launch site inland in east-central China’s Shanxi Province.
The Long March 2D, also known as the Chang Zheng 2D (CZ-2D), is a two-stage rocket that is primarily used to place satellites into low earth orbit, including sun-synchronous and polar orbital regimes. Like other older members of the Long March family, it is powered by asymmetric dimethyl hydrazine (UDMH) and dinitrogen tetroxide, a combination of hypergolic thrusters the family owes to its history as a derivative of the Dongfeng 5 missile. These thrusters are being phased out on new Chinese rockets because of their toxicity.
Thursday’s launch targeted a near-polar sun-synchronous orbit tilted 98 degrees from the equator and at an altitude of about 520 kilometers.
For the first time, the use of grid fins on the 1st stage has been extended to the 2D Long March.
CHASE was named Xihe, after the mother of the sun god in Chinese mythology. pic.twitter.com/SFdumoTgbz
– Cosmic Penguin (@Cosmic_Penguin) October 14, 2021
For the first time, the Long March 2D flew with grille fins on its first stage, similar to those sported by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. The purpose of these is not to help retrieve the scene for reuse, but to help guide it as it falls back to Earth and ensure it falls safely in its area. release planned.
Because China’s former launch sites are located inland, its rockets have become infamous for dropping debris into populated areas, so recent launches of several variants of the Long March have tested. the ailerons as a means of reducing the risk to people and property under the flight path.
Thursday’s launch is the fourth in 2D Long March in 2021, as China previously announced that it plans to launch this type of rocket seven times before the end of the year. The launch also comes just over a day before China’s next crewed launch, Shenzhou 13, which is due to take off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center for an extended stay aboard the country’s space station. This mission is currently scheduled to depart at 4:23 p.m. UTC Friday (12:23 a.m. Beijing time Saturday).
