Long March 3B | Shijian-13/Chinasat-16
This is a Chinese experimental geostationary communications satellite. Besides testing the electric propulsion, the satellite is also reported to carry Chinas first high-throughput satellite payload (HTS), with a capacity of 20 GB per second. The satellite is aiming to provide Ka-band satellite broadband and multimedia services. Additionally it is also to conduct space-to-ground laser communications experiments.
The Long March 3B is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket. Introduced in 1996, it is launched from Launch Area 2 and 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan. A three-stage rocket with four strap-on liquid rocket boosters, it is currently the most powerful member of the Long March rocket family and the heaviest of the Long March 3 rocket family, and is mainly used to place communications satellites into geosynchronous orbits.
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Mission Profile
Shijian-13/Chinasat-16 was a Long March 3B mission operated by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation that lifted off from Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1), Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China on April 12, 2017. The flight carried its payload on a communications mission to Geostationary Transfer Orbit. The launch was a success.