09 October 2022
China sent a solar exploration satellite into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, furthering the country's scientific endeavor to unravel the mysteries of the Sun. The Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S), nicknamed Kuafu-1 in Chinese, was launched aboard a CZ-2D rocket on 09 October at 07:43 BJT and entered its planned 720 km orbit successfully. After 4 to 6 months of testing, the 859-kg satellite will start normal operation to study the causality between the solar magnetic field and solar flares and coronal mass ejections, providing data support for space weather forecasting.
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