China's first reusable satellite returns [Shijian-19]
Shijian-19, China's first reusable satellite,has successfully touched down at the Dongfeng Landing Site
China's first reusable satellite, Shijian-19, returned to Earth on October 11th. According to the China National Space Administration, the Shijian-19 spacecraft's capsule touched down in the Dongfeng Landing Site, located inside the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, at 10:39 am China Standard Time, or 02:39 am Universal Coordinated Time.
Shijian-19 (实践十九号) was delivered into orbit a little over two weeks ago atop of a Long March 2D, flying from Launch Site 4 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. While in orbit, the spacecraft is reported to have run experiments with plant seeds, microorganism samples, technology demonstration devices, and experimental space instruments. The seeds flying onboard the spacecraft were provided by The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hainan Province, and Anhui Province.
Some of these experiments were from international partners and nations, with Thailand and Pakistan being the only two mentioned. Cultural items were also onboard.
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