The National Space
Administration of China said Saturday it will launch a
satellite next Tuesday or Wednesday in cooperation with the
European Space Agency (ESA).
The "equatorial" satellite, or Probe No. 1, is slated to blast
off aboard a Long March 2C/SM carrier rocket followed by a "polar"
satellite, which is expected to go up next year. The satellite and
the rocket have been transported to the launching area, said the
administration.
Probe No.1 will be the highest flying satellite China has ever
launched. It will carry instruments provided by the ESA and the Chinese Academy
of Sciences (CAS).
The two satellites of the "Double Star" project will probe
important areas of two magnetic fields of the Earth's atmosphere,
comprising the Earth's magnetic field, ionosphere and
middle-to-high layers of the atmosphere.
The system will be capable of probing, in three dimensions, the
incidence and development of space storms, in a bid to find ways to
improve safety for space activities.
The "Double Star" project is the first China-Europe joint
satellite probe.
The two satellites in the project have been jointly designed by
the Space Technology Institute of the China Aerospace Technology
Corporation, CAS and eight European scientific research
institutions. The carrier rocket was designed and built by the
Research Institute of Carrier Rocket Technology under the China
Aerospace Technology Corporation.
(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2003)