At 14:27 (Beijing Time) on March 30, 2023, a Long March 4C carrier rocket blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, successfully deploying Yaogan-34 04 satellite into the preset orbit. The satellite and the carrier rocket were both generally developed by Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST). Yaogan-34 04 satellite is mainly used in areas such as land resources survey, urban planning, confirmation of land right, road network design, crop yield estimation, and disaster prevention and mitigation.

Rocket testing team

Strengthen quality confirmation at the launch site, implement refined process control

The Long March 4C carrier rocket used to send the satellite in this mission is a room-temperature liquid three-stage carrier rocket with excellent performance and in extensive usage. For different types of satellites, the Long March 4C carrier rocket can adopt flexible launch schemes, with capacity to launch various type of satellites with different orbit requirements, and it can also send one satellite or several satellites into orbit in a single launch, with a carrying capacity of 3 tons at the sun-synchronous circular orbit (an orbital altitude of 700 kilometers).

To meet requirements of the task, the carrier rocket has adopted Φ4000mm Von Karman fairing, and was equipped with relay user terminal and image measuring system. Comparing with conventional ground-based measurement, relay measurement is a helpful supplement for the ground control station, which extends the receiving period of rocket signals.

It is the windy and dusty season of the year at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center when the mission executed, sandstorms often occur, and the maximum wind speed could be up to 12m/s. To minimize adverse environmental impact on launch site working process, the testing team fully cooperated with staff at the launch site, kept monitoring environmental changes, and made great efforts to guarantee a proper environment, which has guaranteed the success of testing, propellant loading and the final launch. Meanwhile, the testing team of Long March 4 carrier rocket continued to implement management measures such as “planning through confirmation system”, “digital management system”, “regular meeting on OEC”, and “closed loop implementation of To-do Lists”, to strengthen control of launch site quality confirmation and refined process and ensure success of the launch mission.

It’s the 98th launch of the Long March 4 series carrier rocket, the 185th flight experiment of the Long March series carrier rockets developed by Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, as well as the 470th launch of the Long March series carrier rockets.

atellite testing team

Optimize AIT process, and with refined quality confirmation lay a solid foundation for high quality and success

With tight staffing and equipment resources, the commander in chief and the chief designer of Long March 4, leading the project office, have actively planned and prepared, and taken the initiative to act, and the development team provided interaction in front and behind the site, to optimize the development process, strengthen coordination and close cooperation, and guarantee the satellite successfully leaving the factory on time.

Under the multiple parallel operating, efficient and simplified mode, the satellite development team has optimized and adjusted the AIT process, and completed development missions such as mechanical test for the whole satellite, electrical burn-in test, and docking of operation control applications within just one month, and successfully finished all final assembly tests before 04 satellite leaving the factory. After entering into the site, the unloading task has been implemented by the youth commando of Long March 4 under low temperature less than minus 10 degrees, who had precise planning and made tenacious efforts, got busy working in the special train, launching site, and factory, and went back and forth between the transfer room, electrical test room, and offices, and achieved 100% out-of-the-box qualification rate of the product and equipment.

The satellite development team has made proactive plan and preparation, refined relevant confirmation tables, took pictures of and confirmed the material objects one by one, held fast to the bottom line of quality and safety, and ensured that no hidden danger of the satellite would be brought into the space. The team has formulated 60 confirmation tables, 686 process record tables via the satellite product data packet management system, by means of “material object inspection, curves uploading, data comparison, record review, and inter-checking of posts”, and realized the “joint operation, joint collection, and joint confirmation” of the quality confirmation, completed the all-around coverage of data packets of the 21 quality control points, practically enhanced working efficiency, and laid a solid foundation for high quality and success through detailed data comparison, visual curve trend, and accurate judgment and analysis.