Our military reconnaissance satellite successfully communicated with an overseas ground station. This occurred 160 minutes after the satellite was launched on the 8th.
According to the military on that day, the reconnaissance satellite was launched at 8:17 a.m. (local time 7:17 p.m. on the 7th) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, USA. Like the first reconnaissance satellite, it was launched aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle.
About 45 minutes after launch, at 9:02 a.m., it successfully entered orbit. Then, 160 minutes later, at 10:57 a.m., it succeeded in communicating with an overseas ground station. Later that day at 5:53 p.m., it is scheduled to establish its first communication with a domestic ground station. After operational test evaluations such as focusing and calibration of the video, the reconnaissance satellite will be fully operational by the second half of this year.
The second reconnaissance satellite is equipped with a high-performance imaging radar (SAR), also known as a synthetic aperture radar, unlike the first satellite which carries electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) imaging equipment. SAR works by emitting electromagnetic waves toward ground targets and synthesizing the reflected signal data to create images, enabling day and night imaging regardless of weather conditions. Additionally, while EO and IR satellites orbit the Earth in sun-synchronous orbits, SAR satellites orbit in inclined orbits designed to optimize visits to specific areas.
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