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Shijian 1
Launch SuccessfulLaunch Details
Date: 3 Mar 1971, 12:02 pm UTC
Rocket: Long March 1 (Long March)
Provider: Seventh Ministry of Machine Building Industry
Mission
Type: Technology
Orbit: Low Earth Orbit
Pad: Launch Area 2A, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
Mission Description
Shi Jian 1 (SJ-1) was the second Chinese satellite. It was designed and built by the Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST). The 221 kg SJ-1 spacecraft was based on the DFH-1 satellite, from which it inherited the 1 m pressurized spherical structure, but it was powered by Silicon solar cells, which were mounted on 14 trapezoidal planes on the upper and lower hemispherical shells. Batteries and transmitters were housed in the pressurized compartment. SJ-1 was spin-stabilized.