China sent a pair of commercial remote sensing satellites into orbit with its 24th orbital launch of 2022.
A Long March 2C rocket lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China at 6:67 p.m. EDT on July 15 (2257 GMT, or 6:57 a.m. Beijing Time on July 16).
SuperView Neo 2 (01) and (02) were sent into near-polar orbits. The pair are the first synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites for China Siwei Surveying and Mapping Technology Co. Ltd. (China Siwei), a satellite imagery and data services company, according to Nasaspaceflight.com.
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China Siwei has previously launched optical imaging satellites, including a recent pair providing a ground resolution of 11.8 inches (30 centimeters) per pixel.
The new satellites will provide commercial remote sensing services for sectors such as land resources investigation, natural disaster monitoring, urban planning and safety, according to Chinese state media Xinhua.
The satellites were designed and developed by DFH Satellite Co., Ltd. of China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), which belongs to China's main state-owned space contractor, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
The Long March 2C was designed and manufactured by China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), also owned by CASC.
China has now launched 24 missions so far this year, including one failure by commercial launch firm iSpace. CASC is planning more than 50 flights overall in 2022, including completing its Tiangong space station.
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