Launch News Long March 2D launch with Gaofen 9, September 14, 2015

[Cosmic Penguin]

The intriguing Great Chinese Spaceflight Mystery Month (TM) continues with yet another strange satellite launch just 1.5 days apart!

This time the launch originated from the Gobi Desert. At 04:42 UTC on September 14, just after midday, the 23rd Long March 2D rocket flew off from the satellite launch pad at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, right next to where the Shenzhou flights were flown from. About a dozen minutes later, the first satellite to set off from there since last December ended up in the planned 640 km high polar orbit.

Like the last launch from Xichang on September 12, the mystery of this one lies on the payload. In a similar fashion as another satellite launched this late June, another unexpected satellite joins China's civilian Earth observation satellite fleet! GF-9, named as the 9th satellite planned in the China High-resolution Earth Observation System (CHEOS), also popped out from nowhere. Luckily, analysis of its orbit characteristics and even a little bit of official information means that we can pinpoint its identity. It is yet another sub-meter resolution optical spysat/Earth observation satellite that seems to have be turned into a semi-civilian role, just like GF-8.

GF-8 was reported by official sources to be a sister satellite of YG-26 launched just before 2014 ended. GF-9, on the other hand, was linked to YG-24 launched last November.

Sounds confusing? Well with 2 new Chinese rockets debuting right this month, be prepared to get even more confused by the Chinese! :rofl:

NASASpaceflight.com: China lofts Gaofen 9 via Long March 2D

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[Soheil_Esy]

Since the OP really can't explain clearly what is going on, let me elaborate::lol:

China launches hi-res Gaofen-9 Earth observation satellite

Mission Briefing
Launch date: 2015-09-14/12:42 (GMT+8)
Launcher: CZ-2D
Payload（Country）: Gaofen-9, 高分九号（PRC）
Launch site（Country）: Jiuquan（PRC）
Launch pad: 603
Status: Success
Orbit type and parameter: SSO
Remark:

Satellite Launch date Beijing Time Launch site Launcher
YG02 2007/05/25 15：12 JSLC CZ-2D YG04 2008/12/01 12：42 JSLC CZ-2D
YG07 2009/12/09 16：42 JSLC CZ-2D
YG11 2010/09/22 10：42 JSLC CZ-2D
YG24 2014/11/20 15：12 JSLC CZ-2D GF09 2015/09/14 12：42 JSLC CZ-2D

2015/09/14

China on Monday quietly launched the Gaofen-9 high-resolution Earth observation satellite on a Long March 2D rocket from the Jiuquan satellite launch centre in the Gobi desert.

The launch went ahead at 12:42 Beijing time (04:42 UTC) with the only warning coming from a prior airspace notification. The successful launch was confirmed by state-run CCTV.

Gaofen-9 is the fourth to be launched from what is expected to be eight or nine satellites forming the China High-resolution Earth Observation System (CHEOS).

Chinese state media report it will be used to provide sub-meter resolution optical images for use in land surveying, urban planning, land ownership, road network design, estimating crop yields, as well as disaster preparedness and reduction.

China High-resolution Earth Observation System

Gaofen-1 was the first in the series, and delivered a number of incredible hi-res, false colour images of land features in China. It was also involved in locating ‘dozens of illegal cross-border paths’ and the curious case of detecting the country’s largest-ever discovered marijuana plantation – which subsequently ‘disappeared’.

This was followed by the previous satellite, Gaofen-2, which launched on August 19, 2014. With a spatial resolution of 1 metre – the highest of the series – Gaofen-2 returned the stunning images below.

According to the China National Space Administration (CNSA), CHEOS is a planned advanced earth observation system with high spatial, spectral and radiometric resolution with the satellites placed in various orbits.

Approved in 2010, CHEOS plans to provide real-time, all-day global earth observation in any weather and is expected to be completed by 2020. The constellation may also be utilised in Chinese president Xi Jinping’s ‘One belt one road’ regional development project.

China's 6th launch in 2015

The launch was China’s sixth for the year, following missions sending three Beidou global positioning satellites, Gaofen-8, Yaogan Weixing-27, and on Saturday the classified satellite 'Communication Technology Test Satellite One' into orbit.

On September 19, China will launch the first of a new generation of rocket, the Long March 6, which uses new engines fuelled by relatively clean kerosene and liquid oxygen propellant, and will eventually replace the current launch vehicles which run on highly toxic hydrazine.

Next year the new heavy-lift Long March 5 and medium-lift Long March 7 rockets, designed to launch and service China’s future space station and perform lunar sample return missions, will make their debut launches.

Today's launch was the 209th in the Long March series. The first, in April 1970, put China's first satellite - Dong Fang Hong-1 - into orbit.

In an intense period of activity, China is expected to attempt around ten more launches before the end of 2015.

http://gbtimes.com/china/china-launches-hi-res-gaofen-9-earth-observation-satellite

China establishes Tianjun (天军) or Space Force

September 09, 2015

China may set up what it calls a "Space Force" to boost its capabilities in strategic space warfare, sources said Sept. 8.

The space troopers are included in plans to structurally reform the People's Liberation Army to rival the U.S. armed forces.

The plan also includes the set up of a "joint operation command system" in the hopes of ridding the military of its rigid administrative structure.

The PLA is comprised of Beijing, Shenyang and five other military regions, which is mainly controlled by the ground force, along with the navy, air force and the strategic missile branch known as the Second Artillery Corps (SAC).

Additionally, the PLA plans to combine the SAC with a newly established "Tianjun" (Space Force) to improve its potential for space warfare.

http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR300/RR392/RAND_RR392.pdf

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/asia/china/AJ201509090065

Pre announcement

New NOTAM issued on September 13, as following:

A2609/15 - A TEMPORARY RESTRICTED AREA ESTABLISHED BOUNDED BY: 

N350835E0984113-N351211E0982201-N354113E0983025-N353629E0985613 BACK TO START. 

VERTICAL LIMITS:GND-UNL. GND - UNL, 14 SEP 04:35 2015 UNTIL 14 SEP 04:57 2015. 

CREATED: 13 SEP 09:24 2015

Replacing the September 11 NOTAM:

A2591/15 - A TEMPORARY RESTRICTED AREA ESTABLISHED BOUNDED BY: 

N350835E0984113-N351211E0982201-N354113E0983025-N353629E0985613 BACK TO START. 

VERTICAL LIMITS:GND-UNL. GND - UNL, 15 SEP 04:35 2015 UNTIL 15 SEP 04:57 2015. 

CREATED: 11 SEP 07:45 2015

http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MjM...n=07e9752e7eed407a3de18bccca600c1c&scene=0#rd

Launch

http://m.news.cntv.cn/2015/09/14/ARTI1442208216619883.shtml
http://news.xinhuanet.com/photo/2015-09/14/c_128227649.htm
http://www.chinaspaceflight.com/satellite/Gaofen/GF-9/GF9-launch.html

VIDEO​

English Channel version​

Chinese TV version:
http://tv.cntv.cn/video/C10334/e082d050dd0e4c9e83913759f2c2d195

Mobile phone version:
http://video.weibo.com/show?fid=1034:e4638a1ad9aba2a268f5f4c09ffa8cd3


Two Line Element Set (TLE):

2015-047A               
1 40894U 15047A   15257.24064233 -.00000054  00000-0  00000+0 0  9995
2 40894  98.0079 337.7600 0033917 250.0392 109.7164 14.76427326    00

---------- Post added 09-15-15 at 07:04 ---------- Previous post was 09-14-15 at 18:59 ----------

(placeholder for today's Chinese launch until I can get more info about it)

Since the OP really can't explain clearly what is going on with only an empty post, let us have a look at "Google search" once again:

As we can see, the empty thread started by the OP now ranks 5th, behind another English language space website, a stock photo agency and two major Chinese Media websites, far worst than my yesterday's achievement.:facepalm:

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

OK never mind whether if this post is the 1st or the 10000th search result on Google, or that I'm now 10 days late, but my own report can now be seen on the very first post on this thread. :tiphat: