| Mission type | Technology demonstration |
|---|---|
| Operator | Deep Space Exploration Laboratory CNSA |
| Mission duration | 5 months, 6 days (in progress) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Tiandu |
| Manufacturer | Deep Space Exploration Laboratory |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 20 March 2024, 00:31 UTC[1] |
| Rocket | Long March 8[2] |
| Launch site | Wenchang Space Launch Site LC-2[3] |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Selenocentric elliptic orbit |
| Lunar orbiter | |
| Orbital insertion | 24 March 2024, 17:43 UTC[4] |
Tiandu satellites are a pair of Chinese Lunar Exploration Program's lunar navigation and communications test satellites based on Queqiao-2 relay satellite technology.[5][6][7][8]
- ^ "China launches Queqiao-2 relay satellite to support moon missions". Space.com. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "China launches Queqiao-2 relay satellite to support moon missions". Space.com. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "China launches Queqiao-2 relay satellite to support moon missions". Space.com. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ Jones, Andrew (2024-03-25). "China's Queqiao-2 relay satellite enters lunar orbit". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ "Tiandu 1, 2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Andrew Jones (2023-05-09). "China to launch communications relay satellite to the moon in early 2024". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
- ^ "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2024-03-23.