Long March 2D | Xihe (CHASE)

Xihe, also known as the Chinese Hα Solar Explorer (CHASE), is designed to test a newly developed satellite platform and conduct solar observations. The scientific payload of the satellite is an Hα imaging spectrograph (HIS), which can, for the first time, acquire full-disk spectroscopic solar observations in the Hα waveband. It will complement the observations by on-orbit solar spacecraft (such as SDO, IRIS, STEREO and PSP), as well as future solar missions of the Solar Orbiter and the Chinese Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S). Mission is named Xihe after a solar deity from Chinese mythology.

Mission Details

  • Launch date: October 14, 2021 at 10:51 AM UTC
  • Launch vehicle: Long March 2D
  • Operator: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
  • Launch site: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
  • Mission type: Heliophysics