Hongtu-1

The Hongtu-1 (Chinese: 宏图一号), known commonly by its English-language name PIESAT-1 and infrequently as Nuwa-1, is a Chinese commercial X-band interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) satellite constellation performing Earth observation missions in Sun-synchronous orbit.[1][2] Hongtu-1 satellites are intended to map global non-polar regions at a scale of 1:50,000 meters to produce high-precision digital surface models (DSM), likely fulfilling both commercial, scientific, and military reconnaissance tasks.[1][3]

Hongtu
宏图
Hóngtú
Program overview
Country People's Republic of China
OrganizationChina Academy of Space Technology (CAST)
PurposeReconnaissance
StatusActive
Program history
First flight30 March 2023
Successes4
Failures0
Launch site(s)TSLC
Vehicle information
Launch vehicle(s)Long March 2D

The constellation is designed around a hub-and-spoke architecture with three auxiliary (or 'spoke') satellites collecting and a single master (or 'hub') satellite transmitting collected data and receiving instructions for the accompanying auxiliary satellites.[1] Operating in a close formation, these co-orbiting satellites utilize inter-satellite communication to maintain stable and precision synchronization. According to the developer of Hongtu-1 satellites, GalaxySpace, the master satellite weights approximately 320 kilograms and a single auxiliary satellite weights approximately 270 kilograms.

First launch of Hongtu-1 satellites

Hongtu-1 satellites are domestically produced by GalaxySpace, a Beijing-based private satellite developer, for PIESAT Information Technology Co. Ltd. and launched by China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC), a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) on a Long March 2D rocket provided by CASC's Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST).[4] PIESAT has publicly announced their goal to deploy 38 satellites in the constellation, 28 of which are synthetic aperture radar (SAR) alongside 10 optical imaging satellites including panchromatic and multispectral sensors.[3][5] The first launch of PIESAT-1 (Hongtu-1) satellites took place at Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC) in China's Shanxi Province on 30 March 2023.[1][2][6]

Satellites
Name Launch Orbit Orbital Apsis Inclination SCN COSPARID Launch site Vehicle
PIESAT-1A-01 30 March 2023 SSO 521.2 km × 539.0 km
522.2 km × 540.6 km
520.2 km × 541.3 km
520.5 km × 541.0 km		 97.5°
97.5°
97.5°
97.4°
 56153

56154
56155
56156

 2023-047A
2023-047B
2023-047C
2023-047D		 TSLC Long March 2D
PIESAT-1B-01 SSO
PIESAT-1B-02 SSO
PIESAT-1B-03 SSO
Note: The four tracked satellites have not yet been individually tied to the allocated COSPAR identifiers and Satellite Catalog Numbers (SCNs).Sources: United States Space Force (USSF), N2YO

References
  1. Jones, Andrew (31 March 2023). "China launches 4 InSAR satellites and new Yaogan reconnaissance sat". SpaceNews.
  2. Jonathan McDowell [@planet4589] (30 March 2023). "China's SAST launched a CZ-2D at 1050 UTC Mar 30 placing four radar satellites in a 497 x 512 km x 97.4 deg, 18:00 LTDN sun-sync orbit. The CZ-2D second stage appears to have made a controlled deorbit soon after deploying the satellites" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. "PIESAT - About Us". PIESAT.
  4. "CGWIC Successfully Launches PIESAT-1-A-01 and PIESAT-1-B-01~03 satellites by LM-2D Launch Vehicle". China Great Wall Industry Corporation. 31 March 2023.
  5. @CNSpaceflight (22 December 2022). "PIESAT 航天宏图 plans to build a 38-satellite constellation: Nuwa-1, including 28 SARs and 10 optical imaging satellites. The first 4, named PIESAT-1, are planned to be launched on March 30 2023" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. 中国成功发射宏图一号01组卫星 [China successfully launches Hongtu-1 Group 01 satellites] (Television production) (in Chinese). China News Service. 30 March 2023.
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