China launched its fifth Chinese-Brazilian Earth Resource Satellite (CBERS) on Dec. 7 on board a Long March rocket, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. It was the 200th launch of the Long March rocket.
China launches CBERS 4 satellite
China launched its fifth Chinese-Brazilian Earth Resource Satellite (CBERS) on Dec. 7 on board a Long March rocket, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. It was the 200th launch of the Long March rocket.After a rocket failure in 2013, the schedule for the CBERS 4 schedule was accelerated.
CBERS is a cooperative program of the countries of China and Brazil. In 2002, the two governments expanded the initial agreement to include the CBERS 3 and CBERS 4 satellites as the second generation of Sino-Brazilian cooperation.
China plans to launch the next satellite in the series, the CBERS 5, in 2017.
Lei Fanpei, chairman of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), said the Long March rocket series will conduct at least 100 additional launches in the next seven years.
The Long March rockets are designed and manufactured by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, a subsidiary of CASC.
China is planning two additional next generation rockets, the Long March 5 and the Long March 7. The Long March 5 will have the capacity to launch a 25-ton payload to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) or 14 tons to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), according to Xinhua.
The Long March 7 rocket will have a capability to launch 13.5 tons to LEO or 5.5 tons to a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit. The Long March 7 rocket’s maiden flight is scheduled for 2015.
