China has launched a new space environment research satellite and four nanosatellites on a Long March-2D carrier rocket which has successfully entered their pre-set orbit.
The rocket was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China, said on Tuesday.
According to the centre, the satellites have successfully entered their pre-set orbit after launch on November 20, 2018.
Shiyan-6 will be used for conducting space environment exploration experiments.
The term nanosatellite refers to a small artificial satellite, weighing between one kg and 10 kg.
Among the four nanosatellites, Tianping-1A and Tianping-1B will be used for equipment calibration on ground control stations, while Jiading-1 is the first satellite of the Xiangyun satellite constellation in low earth orbit.
A software-defined satellite, developed by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, will be used for conducting experiments on open-source satellite software research and development on Android platforms.
Compared to traditional satellites, a software-defined satellite is more flexible and reconfigurable.
A report says it enables its operator to capture diverse markets with its ability to change things like frequency band and coverage areas on demand.
