Last week, China conducted a double launch to upgrade the Beidou navigation system and place scientific and radar test satellites into orbit. The Long March 2C rocket was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 4 am on May 21. On board were Macau Science Satellite 1A and 1B, designed to study Earth’s magnetic field, and Luojia-2 (01), a Ka-band Synthetic Aperture (SAR) test satellite for Wuhan University.

The Macau Science Satellite 1A carries a payload to measure Earth’s magnetic field, while the 1B is equipped with high-energy particle detectors and solar X-ray instruments. The pair will provide additional observations to those made by ESA’s Swarm satellites and the Sino-Italian seismic-electromagnetic satellite Zhangheng-1. The satellites will also monitor the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), a weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field that affects spacecraft operations.

The 1A satellite platform was developed by DFH Satellite, and 1B by Northwest Polytechnic University, under the guidance of China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), the main satellite manufacturing arm of China’s main space contractor CASC. The payload was developed by the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST).

Luojia-2 (01) tests multi-angle and video radar imaging with the highest resolution of 0.5 meters in projector mode. According to reports in the Chinese press, it will also test the signal enhancement and image integration of remote sensing, meteorological sensing and water conservation. This continues the rise in SAR development in China.

The 353-kilogram Luojia-2 was developed by Wuhan University. The first Luojia-1 satellite was launched in June 2018 and had a mass of 20 kilograms. Launch of satellites China Great Wall Industry Corp. facilitated by (CGWIC) is tasked with providing satellites as well as commercial launch services and participating in international space cooperation. Previously, Long March 3B was launched on May 16 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China at 22:49 pm ET. On board was the 56th satellite of the Chinese Beidou navigation and positioning system, which went into inertial orbit.

It is the first backup satellite of the Beidou system, which was completed in 2020. The new satellite is part of an overall goal of improving system usability, stability, short message throughput and positioning accuracy. So far, these launches were 19th and 20th in China in 2023. CASC plans more than 60 launches this year, with commercial partners adding more than 20 orbital missions, according to announced plans.

The Long March 2F rocket was launched from Jiuquan before the Shenzhou-16 crew launch on May 22. This launch to the Tiangong space station could take place as early as May 27. Earlier this month, China sent the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft to Tiangong to provide materials, fuel, scientific experiments and equipment to the Tiangong spacecraft. Landspace commercial company also recently delivered its second Zhuque-2 metalox to Jiuquan.