China is set to launch Zhongxing-9A (ChinaSat-9A) on Sunday, using a Long March 3B/E rocket to left satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in the hills of Sichuan Province into geostationary transfer orbit.

According to airspace restriction notifications launch is set for shortly after 16:00 UTC (12:00 ET, 00:00 Monday Beijing time).

Zhongxing-9A is Ku band telecommunications satellite based on the DFH-4 satellite bus developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST),

Equipped with 18 36MHz and four 54MHz transponders, it be used to provide radio and TV transmission, digital film and broadband and other broadcasting services to China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

​Zhongxing-9A will have a mass of just over ​5 tonnes at launch, after which it will be positioned at 92.2 degrees East nearly 36,000 kilometres above the Earth, where is it is expected operate for 15 years.

ChinaSat is the brand name of satellites for China Satellite Communications Co. Ltd., a subsidiary owned by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the main contractor for the space programme.

The mission will be China's seventh orbital launch of 2017, following Thursday's successful launch of its first space observatory, the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT).

Above: A Long March 3B/E launches Belintersat-1 for Belarus in January 2016.

Exploration, refuelling, ISS and heavy-lift

June has seen a lot of Chinese space-related activity, starting with the launch of an experiment developed by the Beijing Institute of Technology to the International Space Station by SpaceX, facilitated by the services of US company Nanoracks. 

This was followed by the Global Space Exploration Conferencein Beijing, at which China laid out its exploration roadmap and engaged with heads of space agencies and delegations from space sector groups from around the world. 

Thursday saw both the launch of HXMT and a second successful on-orbit refuelling test carried out by Tianzhou-1, China's first space freighter, while docked with the Tiangong-2space lab.

The two spacecraft are expected soon to decouple and embark on a three-month long period of free flight, carrying out experiments.

A second docking will be conducted in order to test the ability of the cargo ship to dock with the future Chinese Space Station from different directions, before a third and final docking which will test a fast, six hour rendezvous and docking procedure, rather than the standard two-day process. 

The end of the month or early July will then see China will launch its second Long March 5 heavy-lift rocket, which debuted dramatically in November, carrying Shijian-18.

Shijian-18 is an experimental high-throughput telecommunications satellite which, at around seven metric tonnes launch mass, will be one of the most massive satellites launched to geostationary orbit.

​Launching from Wenchang Space Launch Centre, the Ka band satellite will be the first deployment of the new Dongfanghong-5 (DFH-5) satellite platform, the country's most advanced and heaviest so far.

Above: Rollout of the first Long March 5 in October 2016 (China Daily/Su Dong).

Quelle: gbtimes

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Update: 19.06.2017

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China launches Zhongxing-9A satellite, but status remains unknown 

 

The launch of Zhongxing-2A from Xichang via Long March 3B in May 2012.

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China launched its seventh mission of 2017 on Sunday, lofting the Zhongxing-9A (ChinaSat-9A) communications satellite, but -unusually - there has been no official status update in over three hours since liftoff.

The Long March 3B/G2 lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in the hills of Sichuan Province at 00:12 local time on monday (16:12 UTC, 12:12 EDT on Sunday), following on from Thursday's launch of the country's first space observatory.

Apparent video footage and locals on social media surprised by the rumbling of the launch vehicle confirmed liftoff. However, official confirmation of launch success, often within an hour, has not followed, bringing speculation of some degree of failure.

China's last failure came on September 1 last year, when underperformance of a Long March 4B third stage meant the Gaofen-10 Earth observation satellite failed to make it into orbit.

 

Should a problem with the Long March 3B have occured, it would likely have knock-on effects for China's launch schedule, specifically plans to launch 6-8 Beidou satellites and further telecommunications satellites with Long March 3B and C rockets.

Sunday's was the 40th launch of the Long March 3B, the first flight of which in February 1996 ended in disaster. Since then, the launch vehicle has suffered only one partial failure, when lofting Palapa-D in 2009.

Zhongxing-9A

Zhongxing-9A is a Ku band telecommunications satellite based on the advanced DFH-4 satellite bus developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

Equipped with 18 36MHz and four 54MHz transponders, it be used to provide radio and TV transmission, digital film and broadband and other broadcasting services to China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

​Zhongxing-9A had a launch mass of just over ​5 tonnes, and intended to be positioned at 92.2 degrees East, nearly 36,000 kilometres above the Earth, where is it is expected operate for 15 years.

Above: A DFH-4 satellite bus (CAST).

ChinaSat is the brand name of satellites for China Satellite Communications Co. Ltd., a subsidiary owned by CASC, the main contractor for the space programme.

Quelle: gbtimes