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China launched its first full solar probe on Sunday, the Advanced Solar Observatory in Space (ASO-S), according to the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The satellite was launched on a Long March-2D carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 7:43 a.m. Beijing time and entered the the designated orbit.
China launches its first complete solar probe, the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S), aboard a Long March-2D launch vehicle from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the north west China at 7:43 a.m. Beijing time, Oct. 9, 2022. Wang Jiangbo/China Media Group
China launches its first complete solar probe, the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S), aboard a Long March-2D launch vehicle from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the north west China at 7:43 a.m. Beijing time, Oct. 9, 2022. Wang Jiangbo/China Media Group
The probe, called Kuafu-1 (a sun seeker in ancient Chinese mythology), will operate in an orbit 720 kilometers from Earth, permanently facing the sun.
Equipped with a trio of instruments, the 888-kilogram satellite will provide information on how the sun’s magnetic field creates coronal mass ejections and other eruptions. Its tools include an all-solar vector magnetic imager, a Lyman Alpha solar telescope, and a solar hard X-ray imager. It is planned to operate for four years.
The launch is the 442nd mission of the Long March series rockets.