Space Brief 21 Aug 2024
Recent Starlink launches, autonomous navigation for satellite swarms, major funding for asteroid mining, and insights into NASA's various projects and developments.
Launch Date
May 20, 2018
Launch Site
XICLF
Launch Pad
LC3
Launch Vehicle
Chang Zheng 4C
NORAD ID
43471
International Designator
2018-045B
Epoch
Mon, 21 May 2018 23:16:48 GMT
Apogee
Calculating...
Perigee
Calculating...
Inclination
27.50°
Right Ascension
209.52°
Eccentricity
Calculating...
Argument of Perigee
171.22°
Period
14628.05 min
Mean Motion
0.10 rev/day
Latitude
Calculating...
Longitude
Calculating...
Altitude
Calculating...
Velocity
Calculating...
Name
LONGJIANG 1 (LO-93)
Alternative Name
Longjiang 1
Type
Status
Owner
CASC/HARB
Country
China
Constellation
N/A
Related Satellites
Major Events
N/A
1 43471U 18045B 18140.97000001 -.00010094 +00000-0 +00000-0 0 9993
2 43471 027.5020 209.5210 9658153 171.2240 002.0960 00.09844104000018
Source: Celestrak
Length
0.5
Diameter
0.4
Span
0.5
Dry Mass
45
Launch Mass
45
Shape
Box+panel+ant
Radar Cross Section
Unknown
Visual Magnitude
Unknown
Color
Unknown
Material Composition
Unknown
Payload
DSLWP-A
Purpose
Lunar Orbiter
Mission
Lunar Orbiter
Manufacturer
HARB
Life Expectancy
Unknown
Bus
DSLWP
Configuration
Unknown
Motor
?
Equipment
Unknown
Power System
Solar array, batteries
ADCS
Unknown
Transmitter Frequency
Unknown
Learn more about satellites and other related topics.
Recent Starlink launches, autonomous navigation for satellite swarms, major funding for asteroid mining, and insights into NASA's various projects and developments.
Starlink satellite count April 2026: 10,191 working of 10,209 in orbit. SpaceX flew its 1,000th Starlink of 2026 on April 14, adding 29 more sats.
Space Force commits to operational space tugs and on-orbit refueling by 2030. New capabilities will complicate conjunction analysis for GEO and MEO satellite tracking.
SpaceX successfully launched 24 Starlink satellites into polar orbit, enhancing global coverage. Meanwhile, NASA's Crew-11 is now in quarantine ahead of their upcoming ISS mission.
SpaceX launches Twilight rideshare from Vandenberg carrying ~40 payloads including NASA's Pandora satellite. Kepler debuts 10 optical data relay satellites. OroraTech thermal sensors integrated.
For nearly two decades, the U.S. Air Force and Space Force have been the world's unofficial civilian space traffic control system. The Department of Commerce's Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS) is now taking over that job for commercial satellite operators - in stages, against persistent congressional pressure to kill the program, and with Department of Defense advocates pushing to make it happen before it is too late.
The Middle East's first commercial spaceport is building launch heritage one rocket at a time. How Oman is positioning Duqm as a global launch hub - and what the 2025 delays tell us about the real pace of spaceport development.
SpaceX bids farewell to LZ-1 while continuing its mission towards advancements in satellite technology and the ongoing Starlink project.