Thursday marked another successful mission in China’s busy 2021 launch manifest, this time lofting the Zhongxing-9B (ChinaSat-9B) into orbit on a Long March 3B from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. This satellite serves as a replacement to the Zhongxing-9A, launched in 2017 but inserted into a lower than planned orbit, and thus its operational life reduced.
The nature of both satellites is for communications, specifically related to radio and television broadcasting. Built by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) and operated by China Satcom, they are based upon the DFH-4 satellite bus and equipped with Ku-band antennas. The satellite is expected to allow 8K broadcasting of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Zhongxing-9B was successfully inserted into Geostationary Transfer Orbit, where it will use its own propulsion to leave this transfer orbit and begin its planned 15-year mission.