At 01:40 Beijing Time on August 16, 2016, the Quantum Communication Satellite of China Academy of Science was successfully launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) aboard a Long March 2D (LM-2D) launch vehicle. In this mission, China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) launched a piggyback Spanish 6U Cubesat designed and manufactured from the NanoSat Lab at the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain, which was released from the launch vehicle 33 seconds after the main passenger separation. The piggyback launch mission is also performed successfully. 

The 6U Cubesat is for scientific research purpose. It was launched inside a 6UPack cubesat pod manufactured by Innovative Solutions In Space (ISIS), a Dutch space company. This is the second collaboration between CGWIC and ISIS after the first mission of 3 cubesats piggyback in 2013.

The LM-2D launch vehicle is developed and manufactured by Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST), the subsidiary of China Aerospace Science & Technology Corporation (CASC). The launch mission is the 29th flight of Long March–2D, the 234th flight of Long March Family. It also marks the 12th piggyback launch services that CGWIC provided to international customers by using Long March.

 

Date:2016-08-16