Long March 2C launched nine Geely Internet satellites for automobiles.
Updated: Jun 3, 2022
Geely Constellation Group 01 satellites lift-off from Xichang Spaceport.
June 02, 2022 At 04h:00m:336ms UTC (12h:00m:336 ms Beijing) CASC's Long March 2C Y65 carrier rocket lifts off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center and launched the Geely Constellation 01 group of 9 satellites (GeeSAT-1 01-09), and few minutes later the satellites were deployed to the predetermined orbit. The mission was a complete success. This was the all-time high record for the Long March 2C carrier rocket, with 9 payloads in a single launch.
The nine satellites launched this time are all equipped with multi-spectral remote sensing payloads, and will carry out remote sensing application verifications such as future travel, vehicle-machine/mobile phone remote sensing interaction, and marine environmental protection through on-orbit networking
Geespace’s terrestrial base station in Korla, China has reported that they have connected the first nine GeeSAT-1 satellites and which are all functioning correctly post-launch. These first satellites are part of a planned constellation – the “Geely Future Mobility Constellation” – that will consist of 240 satellites, with the first phase of 72 satellites expected to be placed in orbit by 2025. The second phase will follow consisting of 168 satellites.
With the successful launch and operation of Geespace’s first satellites, the company will become one of the world’s first providers of combined commercial Precise Point Positioning and Real-Time Kinematic services (PPP-RTK).
Geespace’s GeeSAT-1 are the first modular, high-resilience, high-performance, mass-produced low-orbit satellites in China. They will provide centimeter-accurate precise positioning and connectivity support for use by automotive brands in the Geely Holding portfolio, enabling true, safe autonomous driving that will connect vehicles with vehicles and infrastructure with vehicles to realize true autonomous driving.
Once in orbit, the sustainably developed satellites have an operating lifespan of five years, after which the satellites would propel themselves into earth’s atmosphere, where they will disintegrate without leaving any space debris.
The Geely Constellation 01 satellites were developed by Zhejiang Shikong Daoyu Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Geely Technology Group, and signed by China Great Wall Industry Group Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Aerospace Technology Group, to provide launch services. In recent years, under the unified planning of the Aerospace Science and Technology Group, Great Wall has applied years of operating experience in international projects to domestic projects, and launched the "Long March Express" launch service brand, which can provide domestic and foreign customers with a fast, stable and reliable "one stop" "style" quality service.
Shikong Daoyu was founded in 2018, with an investment of 4.12 billion yuan ($637 million) has built up a full industrial chain for the development, production, and operation of satellites with R&D centers in Shanghai, Xi’an, and Nanjing, operations centers in Guangzhou and Qingdao, business development centers in Beijing and Taizhou, and a highly automated intelligent satellite testing and production facility in Taizhou
This mission is the 422nd flight of the Long March series of launch vehicles and China's 17th Orbital launch activity in 2022.
LM-2C Launch Vehicle is a hypergolic liquid two-stage launcher designed and manufactured by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), a subsidiary of CGWIC. This is the 63rd launch of LM-2C, The rocket used in this mission is a two-stage state configuration. In this state, the total length of the whole launch vehicle exceeds 42 meters, and the take-off mass is 242 tons.