Daniel808
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From Henri Kenhmann at East Pendulum on 2021.03.13:
The SY-9 satellite, launched on March 12 by the CZ-7A Y2 launcher upon return to flight of this medium power launcher. This family of new generation launchers will eventually replace the CZ-3 family.
According to some local sources, the SY-9 satellite would have a mass of more than 6 tonnes.
This new type of launcher experienced failure on its maiden flight on March 16, 2020.
6.8 Tonnes, what a badass Satellite
From stromgade @stromgade on 2021.03.13:
As expected, the YG-31-04 group (i.e. the 4th triplet group, a typo at the original tweet) has filled the gap in the constellation. All the six orbital planes are now equally spaced, so the constellation is complete.
On the images,
the 1st-generation satellites are in yellow,
2nd generation in red,
Yaogan 31-02, -03 and -04 in GREEN.
View attachment 724381
View attachment 724382
Read the corresponding article here:
The Chinese maritime surveillance system
A space-based maritime surveillance system, with electronic intelligence, radar and optical satellite constellations. The aim of this article is to give a survey of these constellations, and to assess how much their combined capabilities give China an accurate and comprehensive picture of the situation at sea.
Conclusion
Thanks to its satellites, China has optical, radar and electronic capabilities to detect, identify and track ships at sea. Even without taking into account real-time tracking from geostationary orbit, the wide-angle JB-9 constellation and the JB-5 and JB-7 SAR constellations can find contacts in a vast area every day, and have a good chance of refreshing the location of the most interesting ships every few hours. Consequently, it seems unlikely a naval group could hide in the ocean for long.
However, when the weather is very cloudy, only the SAR satellites are able to look through, which severely limits the capabilities of the system. This does not mean China is blind: other means of detection, such as it trans-horizon radars, or its long range patrol aircrafts can complement the satellite system, and help challenge the defenses of US aircraft carriers. This makes a US intervention in a new Taiwan Strait crisis much more risky, and consequently less likely.
The Chinese maritime surveillance system
An analysis of the Chinese reconnaissance satellites, and their maritime surveillance capabilities This article initially appeared on eastpendulum.com, a French-language blog about the Chinese mili…satelliteobservation.net
With the launch of Yaogan-31 group 04, there are now 6 regularly-spaced orbital planes, so the constellation is likely complete:
YG 31-02 a/b/c same 2021 New plane
YG 31-03 a/b/c same 2021 New plane
YG 31-04 a/b/c same 2021 New plane
'same' refers to Local time of passage is VARIABLE, as the orbit is not Sun-Synchronous (non-SSO)
year refers to Launch year
New orbital plane