China launches Tianlu-1 satellite to explore middle, upper atmosphere
Beijing, Jan 18 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) An atmospheric-sounding satellite, developed by China’s private satellite manufacturer GalaxySpace, entered its preset orbit on Friday after the launch that also sent another two satellites into space.
The satellite, named Tianlu-1, features high vertical resolution, multi-parameter detection, and all-weather observation capabilities. It is designed for limb-sounding detection of the middle and upper atmosphere, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to GalaxySpace, the satellite offers advanced tools and technologies for exploring the middle and upper atmosphere, enabling the systematic collection of spatial datasets that feature vertical profiles of the region.
The middle and upper atmosphere, located between the maximum altitude of traditional aircraft and the minimum orbital height of satellites, remains largely unexplored and underutilised.
Obtaining critical data from this region, including atmospheric density, temperature, composition, and wind fields, can significantly enhance extreme weather forecasting, space weather research, and climate change studies.
It will also play a vital role in supporting aerospace services, according to the company.
“Limb-sounding remote sensing represents an innovative approach in space-based atmospheric observation. This technique involves positioning a satellite at a specific orbital altitude, where it conducts layered detection of the middle and upper atmosphere along the tangent direction,” explained Xi Bin, chief executive engineer at GalaxySpace.
Xi added that by analysing spectral data from atmospheric emissions, scattering, and absorption, the satellite can derive critical physical parameters of the atmospheric layers.
According to GalaxySpace, the satellite is equipped with three payloads capable of simultaneously capturing high-resolution vertical profiles of temperature, atmospheric composition, density, and wind field vectors.
Xi said that in the future, a series of detection missions will provide valuable data to strengthen China’s independent satellite communications and navigation reliability and support the deployment and application of high-altitude platforms.
The resulting data products will support the development of precise atmospheric models, research into environmental change mechanisms, and ionospheric modeling studies, Xi added.
Friday’s launch by a Long March-2D carrier rocket, the 556th flight mission involving the Long March carrier rocket series, sent Tianlu-1, Lantan-1, and a Pakistani satellite into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.
