China Rocket Co. Ltd.Smart Dragon 3South China Sea (launch location 2), Haiyang Oriental Spaceport
9 satellites
Launched
February 3, 2024 · 03:06 UTC
Image: China Daily/Chen Xiaolong
Summary
9 satellites launched on a China Rocket Co. Ltd. Smart Dragon 3 from South China Sea (launch location 2), Haiyang Oriental Spaceport on February 3, 2024 at 03:06 UTC. The launch window ran from 02:56 to 03:16 UTC. It was China Rocket Co. Ltd.'s 4th launch, 1st this year and humanity's 6,613th orbital launch attempt. It was the 3rd Smart Dragon 3 flight and the 1st this year. The payload was bound for Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO). Weihai-1 01, one of 11 catalogued objects, reached a 513 × 527 km orbit inclined 97.4°. 11 objects from this launch are catalogued, 10 of them payloads.
- Watch
- Vehicle
- Smart Dragon 3 · China Rocket Co. Ltd.
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Technology · Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO)
- Milestone
- 3rd Smart Dragon 3 flight · 1st this yearChina Rocket Co. Ltd.'s 4th launch1st this yearhumanity's 6,613th orbital launch attempt24th orbital launch attempt this year
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
Weihai-1 01 · NORAD 58919 · 2024-024 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 11 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- TBA - TO BE ASSIGNED
- Object ID
- 2024-024C
- Epoch
- 2024-02-03 10:57:46 UTC
- Mean motion
- 15.17701041 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.0010732
- Inclination
- 97.4089°
- Ascending node
- 111.9479°
- Arg. of perigee
- 287.8013°
- Mean anomaly
- 203.6286°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 4
- B*
- 0
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: SSO. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile.
Catalogued objects
11 catalogued: 10 payloads, 1 rocket stage; 4 still in orbit
- Weihai-1 01 · NORAD 58919 · re-entered July 14, 2026
- NEXSAT-1 · NORAD 58921 · in orbit
- Jinan Kechuang · NORAD 58922 · in orbit
- DRO-L · NORAD 58924 · re-entered July 18, 2025
- Weihai-1 02 · NORAD 58925 · re-entered September 6, 2026
- Unknown payload? · NORAD 58927 · in orbit
- Rongpaio · re-entered May 13, 2025
- Yantai-2 · in orbit
- Xingyi Lianxin Shou xing · re-entered August 29, 2025
- Huakai Tianxia · re-entered April 21, 2026
Jielong-3 Y3 Stage 4 · re-entered March 17, 2024
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
Carried 9 satellites to Sun-synchronous orbit: * DRO-L * Zhixing-2A (SmartSat-2A) * DongFangHuiYan-GF01 * WeiHai-1-01/02 * XingShiDai-18/19/20 * NEXSAT-1
Pad
South China Sea (launch location 2), Haiyang Oriental Spaceport
1st launch from South China Sea (launch location 2), 1st this year · 10th from Haiyang Oriental Spaceport
Local pad time at liftoff: Feb 3, 11:06 AM GMT+8, in daylight
1 launches from this pad · 28 from Haiyang Oriental Spaceport
under an hour after the previous launch from this pad
Updates
Launch success.
Show 4 earlier updates
NET February 3 UTC per new marine navigation warnings.
Cosmic_Penguin · 2/2/2024 · source
NOTAMs A0254 & 0255/24 were removed before start of window, indicating launch was scrubbed for the day. New launch date pending.
Cosmic_Penguin · 2/2/2024 · source
Refined launch window.
Cosmic_Penguin · 1/30/2024 · source
Added launch per NOTAMs; Payload and launch vehicle identities highly uncertain.
Cosmic_Penguin · 1/24/2024 · source
Questions
When did 9 satellites launch?
9 satellites launched on February 3, 2024 at 03:06 UTC. The launch window ran from 02:56 to 03:16 UTC.
Where can I watch 9 satellites?
Coverage: Smart Dragon-3 launches 9 satellites. Watch the replay
What rocket launched 9 satellites?
Smart Dragon 3, flown by China Rocket Co. Ltd.. Smart Dragon 3 spec sheet
Where did 9 satellites launch from?
South China Sea (launch location 2), Haiyang Oriental Spaceport. Liftoff was Feb 3, 11:06 AM GMT+8 local time at the pad.
What orbit did 9 satellites reach?
Weihai-1 01, one of 11 catalogued objects, reached a 513 × 527 km orbit inclined 97.4°.
How many satellites did 9 satellites launch?
10 payloads from this launch are catalogued, 4 of them still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).