Chinese startup Galactic Energy is flying high again after a successful satellite launch on Monday (Dec. 4). The company’s Ceres-1 solid rocket lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 6:33 p.m. EST on Monday (2333 GMT; or 7:33 a.m. Beijing time on Dec. 5). The rocket rose into a dark, predawn sky above the Gobi Desert. Aboard were the Tianyan 16 and Starpool 1A satellites. Both were inserted into near-polar orbits with altitudes of roughly 310 miles (500 kilometers). Related: Chinese company’s rocket launches 3 satellites…
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Did Astronomers See a Distant, Dying Star? Or an Earth-bound Satellite?
What seemed a lucky break — the discovery of a gamma-ray burst in the most distant known galaxy — might instead be the flash of passing space debris. As satellites fill low-Earth orbit, such events might become common. The post Did Astronomers See a Distant, Dying Star? Or an Earth-bound Satellite? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
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