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March 20, 2024 08:31 a.m.

A Long March-8 launch vehicle carrying Queqiao-2 relay satellite along with Tiandu-1 and Tiandu-2 experimental satellites for communication and navigation blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center, then accurately put them into the destination orbit, and the launch is a complete success

Developed by Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, Tiandu-1 satellite is mainly designed to conduct experiments to verify lunar orbit/definitive orbit, as well as verify TT&C technology between the Earth and the Moon, and provide technical support for the construction of China’s “Queqiao multi-satellite constellation for communication, navigation and remote sensing”.

Subsequently, with the support from the ground TT&C, Tiandu satellites will enter into the capture orbit after midcourse correction and lunar orbit insertion; then, under orbit control, the satellites will enter into the 24-hour cycle highly elliptical frozen orbit around the moon, and separate to adjust their relative distance to about 200 km. Afterwards, the satellites will conduct tests to verify lunar orbit navigation space reference different source calibration, a new mode of experiment integrating Ka-band communication and ranging, moon-earth high-reliability transmission and routing, and other new technologies.