Pakistani remote sensing satellite launched from Jiuquan [Long March 2D Y101]
A new remote sensing satellite for Pakistan was delivered to orbit along with two other satellites.
At 12:07 pm China Standard Time, or 04:07 am Universal Coordinated Time, a Long March 2D blasted off from Launch Area 4 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center heading for sun-synchronous orbit.
Riding atop the vehicle today were three satellites, Pakistan’s PRSC-EO1, Tianlu-1 (天路一号), and Lantan-1 (蓝碳一号). As a launch mission carrying an international payload, the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology stated:
“The team adheres to the concept of “providing customers with high-quality launch services, demonstrating the good technical quality and spirit of Chinese astronauts, and building the brand image of China Aerospace”, once again establishing a good reputation for China's international launch services with its completely successful actual performance.”
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Pakistan’s PRSC-EO1 satellite, full name Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite Electro-Optical 1, is a Pakistani-developed electro-optical resource monitoring satellite to enhance the country’s ability to monitor natural resources, warn and monitor natural disasters, support food security programs, and inform sustainable economic development. More PRSC-EO satellites are expected to be launched in the future too. In developing the spacecraft Pakistan bolsters its national space industry and expertise.
Lantan-1 was one of the secondary payloads onboard and was manufactured by Geespace, taking advantage of the company’s low-cost high-capacity satellite manufacturing capabilities. Development of the satellite was conducted by Hangzhou Dianzi University (杭州电子科技大学) and the Second Institute of Oceanography at China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, while the instruments were developed by Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Studies of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (国科大杭州高等研究院). In orbit, Lantan-1 will monitor the oceans around Zhejiang Province (浙江) for ecological environmental protection and marine resource management.
The other secondary payload onboard was Tianlu-1, developed by Galaxy Space (银河航天) on behalf of Jianghuai Frontier Technology Collaborative Innovation Center (江淮前沿技术协同创新中心). Once operational in orbit Tianlu-1 will provide all-weather remote sensing observations of the Earth below, particularly the plains north of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the lower reaches of the Huai River Basin as well as areas in the north of Jiangsu Province (江苏) and around Anhui Province (安徽).
The Long March 2D’s first-stage for today’s launch had four grid fins installed to control the stage’s descent. Grid fins are included occasionally on Long March launches to test hardware for reusable rockets and to shrink the debris hazard areas. This is believed to have been the seventh time a Long March vehicle has had grid fins installed.
Due to the cold temperatures in January at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, today’s Long March 2D was equipped with extra thermal insulation material on the fairing, interstage, and engine section to keep propellants and consumables from freezing. This thermal insulation falls away harmlessly during liftoff.
Today’s launch was the 95th mission for the Long March 2D, the 228th Long March vehicle launch from the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, and the 556th launch of the Long March launch vehicle series. This was also the 3rd launch from China in 2025.
Liftoff footage via 银河航天, 航天五线谱, and 中国航天报 on Weibo.
Check out the previous Long March 2D launch
What is the Long March 2D?
This section is for those less familiar with China's Long March series of launch vehicles.
The Long March 2D is also one of the oldest launch vehicles from China performing missions regularly to low earth and sun-synchronous orbits by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, as a two-stage version of the Long March 4 vehicles. The two stages of the launch vehicle both burn Dinitrogen Tetroxide and Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine.
The payload capacity of the launch vehicle is currently as follows:
3,500 kilograms to low Earth orbit
1,300 kilograms to a sun-synchronous orbit
The first-stage is powered by four YF-21C engines, which generate 302 tons of thrust burning Dinitrogen Tetroxide and Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine. The second-stage is powered by a single YF-22C engine and four YF-23C verniers that generate 80 tons of thrust while also burning Dinitrogen Tetroxide and Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine.
On the launch pad, the Long March 2D is 41.05 meters tall and weighs 232,250 kilograms when fully fuelled. The first and second stages have a diameter of 3.35 meters, with the fairing having a diameter of either 3.35, 3.8, or approximately 4 meters.
So far the Long March 2D has flown from all three inland launch sites, the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, and the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
