Long March 3 Rocket Launches Its First Sun-Synchronous Orbit Satellite

China launched a Long March 3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China's Sichuan province on Dec 6, sending the Gaofen 14 Earth-observation satellite into selected orbit.

It was the first flight of the improved Long March 3B carrier rocket and the first time a Long March 3B rocket had put a spacecraft into a sun-synchronous orbit.

Primarily developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the rocket that shouldered the launch mission on Dec 6 was based on a renovation of the general design structure of the Long March 3A series.

With a take-off weight of about 456 tons, the 58-meter rocket has applied 12 advanced technologies that had never been used in launches, which improved its precision and flight control.

It was the 354th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.

The Gaofen 14 high-resolution optical mapping satellite, developed by CASC's China Academy of Space Technology, can obtain high-definition stereoscopic images of the globe, measure then generate large-scale digital topographic maps and digital orthophoto maps.

It is expected to provide basic geological information for national economic development and implementation of some national strategies like the Belt and Road Initiative.

A Long March 3B carrier rocket, carrying the Gaofen 14 Earth-observation satellite, is launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China's Sichuan province on Dec 6. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

The improved Long March 3B carrier rocket is ready for flight at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

(Executive editor: Wang Ruoting)