China added another satellite to its constellation that enables communications with its orbiting spacecraft with the successful launch on Nov. 22 of the Tianlian 1-04 geosynchronous satellite.
The four satellites in the Tianlian-class of tracking and data relay satellites (TDRS) provide close to real-time communications between the ground control and spacecraft. They provide communication coverage for manned Shenzhou missions from Shenzhou 7 onwards and are indispensable in this role.
The Tianlians also provide data relay, measurement and control services for China's manned spacecraft, space labs and space stations. The word Tianlian translates into Sky Link.
Tianlian 1-04 will replace the first satellite in the series, Tinalian 1-01, launched in 2008. The Tianlian-class was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).
China successfully launched Tianlian 1-04 on a Long March-3C carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province.
Tianlian 1-04 was China's 20th launch of 2016, 19 of which were successful. It was the 241st overall for the Long March rocket series.
November was a busy month for China's military-led space program. Spacecraft were launched from the Jiuquan in the Gobi Desert, Xichang in the southwest and the new coastal Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre on the southern island province of Hainan.
Also this year, China launched its largest ever rocket, the Long March 5. This heavy lifter will allow China to build a large, modular space station and launch deep space missions, including a 2017 lunar sample return and a Mars mission in 2020.
Highlight of Chinese spaceflight for the year was the launch of Shenzhou-11, China's sixth human spaceflight mission, whose crew safely returned to Earth last week after a month aboard the Tiangong-2 space station.
Shenzhou-11 was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on Oct. 17 carrying mission commander Jing Haipeng and flight engineer Chen Dong.
Inside Tiangong-2, the taikonauts conducted an intense series of experiments over the next 30 days. They carried out materials science experiments; medical research; three student experiments; plant growth studies and tested orbital repair techniques.