Radian Aerospace raises $27.5 million for new orbital space plane  Space.com

Read More…
Radian Aerospace raises .5 million for new orbital space plane – Space.com

China successfully launched the Gongjian Ludi Tance-1 01A (L-SAR 01A) satellite into a quasi sun-synchronous orbit of 607 kilometers. The 3.2 metric ton satellite was launched at 23:44 UTC on Tuesday, January 25 on a Chang Zheng 4C from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The satellite is equipped with an L-band and multi-channel synthetic aperture radar (SAR) payload. It is a civilian satellite that will use a 33 square meter array to survey the Earth after major events such as earthquakes and landslides. This is comparable to the Argentinian SAOCOM satellites which are also equipped with L-band and a SAR to monitor environmental disasters. L-band brings the advantage of being able to penetrate clouds, rain, and vegetation which makes it easier to monitor the ground. It operates in a frequency range of 1-2 GHz. This launch was the first of two for this particular project. The L-SAR 01B mission will be launched at a later date. The Chang Zheng 4C used for the launch is a three-stage orbital rocket for China. It was designed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) and has flown 39 times to date, including this mission. It has a payload capacity of 4,200 kg to low…

Read More…
China launches L-SAR 01A as new methane rocket nears first launch from Jiuquan