Long March 2C launches Yaogan 30-05 triplet whilst sporting grid-fins on its first stage

by Matt Wilson | Jul 29, 2019 | China, Launches, Military space, Satellites, Seradata News, Technology

An unexpected Chinese satellite launch took place from Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 0357 GMT, 26 July 2019. This mission saw a CALT (Chinese Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology) Long March 2C (CZ-2C) rocket orbit a triplet of YAOGAN 30-05 Earth Observation satellites into LEO. These YAOGAN units are suspected to have military Ocean surveillance roles however, officially their roles are to “conduct electromagnetic probes and other experiments”.

The Long March 2C rocket lifts off carrying the YAOGAN 30-05 triplet with its new grid fins located at the top of the first stage. Courtesy of YouTube

This launch demonstrated progress in Chinese launch vehicle technology. This rocket was equipped with grid fins on its first stage. These were testing procedures for more accurately controlling the drop-sites of spent-stages which have caused issues in the past during over-land launches.

About Seradata

Seradata produces the renowned Seradata database. Trusted by over 100 of the world’s leading Space organisations, Seradata is a fully queryable database used for market analysis, failure/risk assessment, spectrum analysis and space situational awareness (SSA).

For more information go to https://www.seradata.com/product/

Firefly reveals cause of Alpha launch failure: a strange aerothermodynamic heating effect

Firefly Aerospace has revealed the cause of the launch failure of its Alpha rocket that took place four months ago. Read more

Landspace’s Zhuque-2 rocket self-destructs after power failure

Chinese startup Landspace suffered a launch failure after its Zhuque-2E rocket experienced an electrical anomaly during its sixth test flight, Read more

Starship’s triumphant 10th test flight comes just in time for SpaceX

After three consecutive flight failures plus an on-land test explosion, there was a lot riding on the 10th suborbital test Read more

The Great Space Race: cutbacks, confusion, and dismay at NASA sees the US fall away in human lunar return race

Every year, Seradata reviews the ‘runners and riders’ in the Great Space Race, or rather the two races: to return Read more

Launches in July 2025

!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r