SJ 11-03

Spacecraft nº:

Chinese spacecraft nº: 159

Launch data: Designation  37730 / 11030A Launch date  06 Jul 2011 - 04:28:04 UT Launch site  Jiuquan, 603 Launch vehicle  CZ-2C-III (Y25) Mission  Government: Scientific research & technological experiments LEO Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee  690 x 704 km Eccentricity  9.91E-04 Inclination  98.23 deg Period  98.71 min

Spacecraft data:

Mission details:

• Conduct various technology and environmental experiments.
• China has launched a new satellite, Shi Jian shi yihao 03 xing (Shi Jian 11 satellite 3, denoted SJ-11-03 by many Western sources). It is thought that the SJ-11 satellites are follow-on to the Shiyan Weixing 2 satellite which tested infrared sensors. It has further been speculated that the vehicles may be missile early warning satellites; this is certainly possible, although a military infrared surveillance mission of some kind does appear plausible.
• SJ-11-03 was launched into a 690 x 703 km x 98.2 deg orbit together with its final stage rocket. As usual with CZ-2C launches, four stage-2 separation-motor covers were jettisoned into elliptical orbits, in this case around 700 x (800 - 955) km.