HELSINKI — China conducted its 55th orbital launch of 2024, sending the Haiyang-4 (01) oceanography satellite into a near polar orbit.
A Long March 4B rocket lifted off at 5:42 p.m. Eastern Nov. 13 (2242 UTC) from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, north China. Insulation tiles fell from the payload fairing as the rocket climbed into the night sky, with shock diamonds visible in the exhaust from the rocket’s hypergolic propellant mix.
China’s space authorities announced launch success within an hour of launch and revealed the payload to be the Haiyang-4 (01) oceanography satellite.
Haiyang-4 (01) was later cataloged in a 633 by 644-kilometer orbit by U.S. Space Force space domain awareness teams.
The Haiyang-4 (01) satellite is equipped with a comprehensive aperture radiometer, active and passive detectors and other payloads, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
The satellite will fill a gap in China’s high-precision global ocean-salinity detection capabilities. It will improve data collection on ocean dynamics and environmental factors, and boost the accuracy of China’s marine forecasting products, according to CNSA. It will also contribute to marine environmental forecasts, marine ecological forecasts, water cycle monitoring, short-term climate forecasts, global climate change research and other areas.
“Haiyang” translates to “ocean” in Chinese, reflecting the satellites’ primary mission of monitoring marine environments. Ocean monitoring satellites are valuable for providing data for weather models for forecasting and monitoring climate change. They also deliver information helpful for tracking pollution and marine navigation and safety.
The launch takes China to 55 orbital launch attempts in 2024. Among these are a failure of the iSpace Hyperbola-1 solid rocket in July, and a partial failure that saw a pair of lunar satellites enter the wrong orbit, but apparently later reached the moon. Major missions include the Shenzhou-18 and Shenzhou-19 crewed missions, and the unprecedented Chang’e-6 lunar far side sample return mission.
Upcoming missions include the Tianzhou-8 cargo resupply mission to the Tiangong space station. Launch is scheduled for around 10:10 a.m. Eastern (1510 UTC) Friday, Nov. 15. The first launch of the Long March 12 is expected in the coming weeks. Launch will take place from a new commercial spaceport near Wenchang, Hainan island.
