China launches first solar observatory, tests grid fins - SpaceNews
HELSINKI — China carried out its 37th orbital launch of the year Thursday, successfully sending the Chinese H-alpha Solar Explorer and 10 other satellites into orbit.
The main payload was China’s first solar observatory, the Chinese H-alpha Solar Explorer, with a target 517-kilometer-altitude Sun-synchronous orbit. .The pair were developed by small satellite developer Shenzhen Aerospace Dongfanghong Satellite Co., Ltd, ultimately owned by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). .
The China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC), a subsidiary of CASC, lists further satellites on the flight to be named as MD-1, Tianshu-1, QX-1, the Golden Bauhinia N2 satellite developed by Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group Limited and Commsat for a constellation to cover the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, MOTS and Tianyuan-1, as well as Head-2 E and Head-2 F for the HEAD Aerospace Group. .The satellite is based on a new platform with its very high pointing accuracy and high stability reaching 1 to 2 orders of magnitude higher than existing domestic capabilities, according to the platform developer, the Shanghai Academy of Space Technology (SAST), a major CASC subsidiary. The Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics (CIOMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) was involved in the development of CHASE.