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Shiyan (satellite)

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Shiyan
实验卫星
Shíyàn Wèixīng
Program overview
CountryChina People's Republic of China
PurposeExperimental
StatusActive
Program history
Duration2004–Present
First flight18 April 2004
Last flight11 May 2024
Successes36
Failures0
Launch site(s)
Vehicle information
Launch vehicle(s)


Shiyan (SY, simplified Chinese: 实验; traditional Chinese: 實驗; pinyin: Shíyàn; lit. 'experiment') is a Chinese experimental satellite program consisting of a variety of test satellites. Given the classified nature of the satellites, Chinese government statements regarding the missions of Shiyan satellites follow the common refrain of agricultural monitoring and space environment observation — the same offered for other classified programs such as the Tongxin Jishu Shiyan, Yaogan, and Shijian programs. Alternatively named Tansuo satellites, Shiyan satellites occupy varying orbits including low Earth, polar Sun-synchronous, geosynchronous, and highly-elliptical orbits and are believed to accomplish a diverse set of missions from rendezvous proximity operations (RPO) to earth imaging.[1][2] Though similarly named, the Shiyan satellite program is not to be confused with the separate Shijian satellite program.

Notable satellites

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Shiyan 7

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Shiyan 7 was launched from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC) on 19 July 2013 aboard a Launch March 4C rocket into low Earth, Sun-synchronous orbit, accompanied by the Shijian 15 (of unknown mission) and Chuangxin 3.[2][3] Three weeks after launch, from 6–9 August 2013, Shiyan 7 performed rendezvous operations with its companion payload, Chuangxin-3, supporting speculations of a robotic arm-wielding satellite tasked with rendezvous proximity operations (RPO).[2][4][5][6] Later, Shiyan 7 shifted to rendezvous with Shijian 7 (of unknown mission) with whom it maintained proximity from 19 to 20 August 2013 until it maneuvered into a 5 km lower orbit.[4][7] Drawing further suspicion, around 19 October 2013, Shiyan 7 maneuvered to a 1 km higher orbit and released a previously untracked object, designated Shiyan 7B which many believe to be a subsatellite to RPO experiments.[3][4][8] Such operations, which the Chinese government does not comment on, has sparked debate around the nature of Chinese experimental satellites.[7][8][9]

Satellites

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Name Launch Orbit Orbital apsis Inclination SCN COSPAR ID Launch site Launcher Status
Shiyan 1 18 April 2004 SSO 559.8 km × 572.9 km 98.0° 28220 2004-012A XSLC Long March 2C Operational
Shiyan 2 18 November 2004 SSO 678.9 km × 702.5 km 98.1° 28479 2004-046A XSLC Long March 2C Operational
Shiyan 3 5 November 2008 SSO 788.6 km × 809.7 km 98.7° 33433 2008-056A JSLC Long March 2D Operational
Shiyan 4 20 November 2011 SSO 781.6 km × 816.2 km 98.7° 37931 2011-068B JSLC Long March 2D Operational
Shiyan 5 25 November 2013 SSO 747.5 km × 770.0 km 98.2° 39455 2013-068A JSLC Long March 2D Operational
Shiyan 6-01 19 November 2018 SSO 448.8 km × 541.0 km 97.4° 43711 2018-094B JSLC Long March 2D Operational
Shiyan 6-02 4 July 2020 SSO 609.0 km × 799.1 km 98.2° 45859 2020-043A JSLC Long March 2D Operational
Shiyan 6-03 8 April 2021 SSO 1,001.4 km × 1,126.5 km 99.5° 48157 2021-028A TSLC Long March 4B Operational
Shiyan 7A 19 July 2013 SSO 665.3 k × 679.0 km 98.0° 39208 2013-037A TSLC Long March 4C Operational
Shiyan 7B (subsat) 19 July 2013 SSO 670 km × 660 km 98.0° 39357 2013-037J TSLC Long March 4C Operational
Shiyan 9 11 March 2021 GTO 35,738.5 km × 35,852 km 19.4° 47851 2021-019A WSLC Long March 7A Operational
Shiyan 10 27 September 2021 Molniya 1,422.3 km × 38,950.6 km 63.7° 49258 2021-087A XSLC Long March 3B Partially operational[10]
Shiyan 10-02 29 December 2022 GTO (Not yet announced) (Not yet announced) 54878 2022-178A XSLC Long March 3B Operational
Shiyan 11 24 November 2021 SSO 488.9 km × 502.0 km 97.5° 49501 2021-112A JSLC Kuaizhou 1A Operational
Shiyan 12-01 23 December 2021 GEO 35,751.6 km × 35,758.8 km 0.2° 50321 2021-129A WSLC Long March 7A Operational
Shiyan 12-02 23 December 2021 GEO 35,749.1 km × 35,773.1 km 0.2° 50322 2021-129B WSLC Long March 7A Operational
Shiyan 13 17 January 2022 SSO 371.3 km × 1,272.0 km 98.6° 51102 2022-004A TSLC Long March 2D Operational
Shiyan 14 24 September 2022 SSO 492.1 km × 514.7 km 97.5° 53884 2022-118A TSLC Kuaizhou 1A Operational
Shiyan 15 24 September 2022 SSO 491.8 km × 510.5 km 97.5° 53885 2022-118B TSLC Kuaizhou 1A Operational
Shiyan 16A 26 September 2022 SSO 509.1 km × 528.0 km 97.5° 53948 2022-121A TSLC Long March 6 Operational
Shiyan 16B 26 September 2022 SSO 509.6 km × 526.8 km 97.5° 53949 2022-121B TSLC Long March 6 Operational
Shiyan 17 26 September 2022 SSO 508.1 km × 527.0 km 97.5° 53950 2022-121C TSLC Long March 6 Operational
Shiyan 19 15 March 2023 SSO 500.1 km × 520.9 km 97.5° 55861 2023-034A JSLC Long March 11 Operational
Shiyan 20A 12 December 2022 LEO 800.3 km × 806.6 km 60.0° 54699 2022-169A JSLC Long March 4C Operational
Shiyan 20B 12 December 2022 LEO 798.5 km × 808.1 km 60.0° 54700 2022-169B JSLC Long March 4C Operational
Shiyan 20C 29 October 2022 LEO 799.5 km x 816.0 km 60.0° 54214 2022-142A JSLC Long March 2D Operational
Shiyan 21 16 December 2022 LEO 480.8 km × 498.5 km 36.0° 54752 2022-172A XSLC Long March 11 Operational
Shiyan 22A 13 January 2023 LEO 504.3 km × 521.9 km 43.2° 55242 2023-006A JSLC Long March 2D Operational
Shiyan 22B 13 January 2023 LEO 510.6 km × 526.3 km 43.2° 55243 2023-006B JSLC Long March 2D Operational
Shiyan 23 11 May 2024 SSO JSLC Long March 4C Operational
Shiyan 24A 7 June 2023 SSO JSLC Kinetica 1 Operational
Shiyan 24B 7 June 2023 SSO JSLC Kinetica 1 Operational
Shiyan 24C-01 25 December 2023 SSO Bo Run Jiu Zhou platform, South China Sea Long March 11 Operational
Shiyan 24C-02 25 December 2023 SSO Bo Run Jiu Zhou platform, South China Sea Long March 11 Operational
Shiyan 24C-03 25 December 2023 SSO Bo Run Jiu Zhou platform, South China Sea Long March 11 Operational
Shiyan 25 20 June 2023 SSO TSLC Long March 6 Operational
Sources: NASA, US Space Force, CelesTrak

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Krebs, Gunter Dirk (21 July 2019). "SY 1, 2 (TS 1, 2)". Gunter's Space Page.
  2. ^ a b c "Shiyan 7". NASA. 27 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b Krebs, Gunter Dirk (21 July 2019). "SY 7A, 7B". Gunter's Space Page.
  4. ^ a b c "Shiyan-7 (SY-7)". Weebau Space Encyclopedia. 12 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Shiyan-7 (SY-7)". N2YO.
  6. ^ Smith, Marcia (19 August 2013). "Surprise Chinese Satellite Maneuvers Mystify Western Experts". SpacePolicyOnline.
  7. ^ a b David, Leonard (9 September 2013). "Mysterious Actions of Chinese Satellites Have Experts Guessing". Space.com.
  8. ^ a b Stokes, Mark; Alvarado, Gabriel (30 March 2020). China's Space and Counterspace Capabilities and Activities (PDF) (Report).
  9. ^ Deschenes, Nicholas. "Enabling Leaders to Dominate the Space Domain" (PDF). Military Review (May–June 2019): 112.
  10. ^ Krebs, Gunter Dirk (24 October 2021). "SY 10". Gunter's Space Page.