NEXT SPACEFLIGHT

Status

Success

Huanjing-1C, Xinyan 1 & FN 1/1A

Launch Time
Sun Nov 18, 2012 22:53 UTC

Rocket

Long March 2C
Image Credit: CASC
CASC
Status: Active
Price: $30.8 million
Liftoff Thrust: 2,962 kN
Payload to LEO: 2,850 kg
Payload to GTO: 1,000 kg
Stages: 2
Strap-ons: 0
Rocket Height: 42.0 m
Fairing Diameter: 3.35 m
Fairing Height: 8.37 m

Mission Details

Huanjing-1C

Chinese Earth observation satellite. The Huanjing series are satellites for disaster and environmental monitoring ("huanjing" is Chinese for "environment"). The satellites will be capable of visible, infrared, multi-spectral, and synthetic aperture radar imaging.

Payloads: 1
Sun-Synchronous Orbit

Xinyan 1

XY 1 (Xinyan-1 or NewTech-1) is a Chinese microsatellite to test new technologies in space.

Payloads: 1
Total Mass: 140.0 kg
Sun-Synchronous Orbit

Fengniao 1

The mission of the FN (Fengniao, HummerSat) spacecraft is to demonstrate new minisat technologies for formation flying.

The HummerSat-1 mission consists of a minisatellite, called FN-1 or HummerSat-1 with a launch mass of about 160 kg, as the principal spacecraft of the formation. In addition to the minisatellite HummerSat-1, there is a microsatellite, called FN-1A (or HummerSat-1A) with a mass of about 30 kg. FN-1A will be mounted on FN-1 at launch and will be deployed in orbit to form a two-spacecraft formation with the mother spacecraft. Both spacecraft are in contact with a crosslink for information exchange and the enactment of required orbit maneuvers. However, all ground communications with the formation are only via the mother spacecraft.

The goal of the FN-1 mission is to:

Demonstrate the newly developed CAST-mini bus and CAST-micro bus designs in space, in particular, to validate their functional capabilities and technologies introduced
Demonstrate the capability of close formation flying technologies such as relative navigation, guidance and control, inter-satellite crosslink, and command.
It is unclear if the FN 1A (HummerSat 1A) subsatellite was ever deployed.

Payloads: 1
Total Mass: 160.0 kg
Sun-Synchronous Orbit

Fengniao 1A

The mission of the FN (Fengniao, HummerSat) spacecraft is to demonstrate new minisat technologies for formation flying.

The HummerSat-1 mission consists of a minisatellite, called FN-1 or HummerSat-1 with a launch mass of about 160 kg, as the principal spacecraft of the formation. In addition to the minisatellite HummerSat-1, there is a microsatellite, called FN-1A (or HummerSat-1A) with a mass of about 30 kg. FN-1A will be mounted on FN-1 at launch and will be deployed in orbit to form a two-spacecraft formation with the mother spacecraft. Both spacecraft are in contact with a crosslink for information exchange and the enactment of required orbit maneuvers. However, all ground communications with the formation is only via the mother spacecraft.

The goal of the FN-1 mission is to:

Demonstrate the newly developed CAST-mini bus and CAST-micro bus designs in space, in particular, to validate their functional capabilities and technologies introduced
Demonstrate the capability of close formation flying technologies such as relative navigation, guidance and control, inter-satellite crosslink, and command.
It is unclear if the FN 1A (HummerSat 1A) subsatellite was ever deployed.

Payloads: 1
Total Mass: 30.0 kg
Sun-Synchronous Orbit

Location

LC-9, Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China

Stats

2012

67th orbital launch attempt

Long March 2C

35th mission
2nd mission of 2012
34th successful mission
3rd consecutive successful mission