Yaogan Weixing 8 (JB-9 1)

Spacecraft nº:

Chinese spacecraft nº: 135

Launch data: Designation  36121 / 09072A Launch date  15 Dec 2009 - 02:31 UT Launch site  Taiyuan, LC-9 Launch vehicle  CZ-4C Mission  Government: Remote Sensing/Imaging LEO Sun-Synchronous Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee  1192 x 1205 km Eccentricity  8.59E-04 Inclination  100.5 deg Period  109.39 min

Spacecraft data:

Mission details:

• Land resources surveys, etc. (see Yaogan 5). But western military believes it to be a reconnaissance satellite.
• On Dec 15, another Yaogan launch, this time from the Taiyuan space center. YW-8 ('yaogan weixing bahao') is in a 1192 x 1204 km x 100.5 deg sun-synchronous orbit, a new orbital regime for Chinese satellites. It is probably a low resolution imaging satellite, either for civilian Earth resource studies or military weather forecasting.