Yaogan 2 (JB-6 1)

Launch data: Designation  31490 / 07019A Launch date  25 May 2007 - 07:12 UT Launch site  Jiuquan, SLS-2 Launch vehicle  CZ-2D (#F08) Mission  Radar remote sensing Earth orbit on: Perigee / Apogee  630 x 656 km Inclination  97.86° Period  97.59 min

Spacecraft data:

Mission details:

• China's launch continues with the orbiting of Yaogan 2, its second SAR (synthetic aperture radar) remote sensing satellite, on May 25. Yaogan 2 was launched by a CZ-2D from the northern launch site at Jiuquan, while Yaogan 1 had used as CZ-4B from the Taiyuan launch site. Some sources have claimed that the Yaogan series also has a military role under the codename Jianbing-5. The satellite entered a 631 x 655 km x 97.8 deg orbit.
• The Chinese Yaogan remote sensing satellites are something of a mystery. They are rumoured to carry SAR (synthetic aperture radar) and be at least partly for military surveillance applications. The first Yaogan was launched on a three-stage CZ-4 in 2006; the final stage ended up in a 452 x 624 km orbit, while Yaogan was tracked in a 601 x 621 km orbit that was raised over a few days to 623 x 626 km. It's not clear whether Yaogan entered the final-stage orbit first and raised its own perigee, or whether it was deployed in the 601 x 621 km orbit, and the final stage then made a depletion burn to drop its.
• Yaogan 2, launched this year on a two-stage CZ-2D, entered a 631 x 655 km orbit and does not appear to have made any significant maneuvers. No other object from the launch has been cataloged by US sensors - what happened to the CZ-2D second stage? Did Yaogan 2 perform orbit insertion with an onboard engine leaving the second stage in a suborbital trajectory? Did the second stage remain attached to the Yaogan 2 payload, either deliberately or as a result of a separation failure? Did the second stage make a major depletion burn that removed it from orbit?