By Staff Reporters

Xihe, China's first solar exploration satellite, was successfully sent into designated orbit from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China at 6:51 pm Beijing time on October 14, marking China's entry into the era of the sun's observation.

The satellite was named after the goddess of sun Xihe in China's ancient mythology, who was said to be in charge of time and the calendar.

It will conduct observations of the solar H-alpha band spectral imaging for the first time in the world. Through the analysis of data gained from the observation, the dynamic process and physical mechanism of the solar eruption can be studied.

Operating in a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 517 km, the satellite will be able to observe the sun for 24 consecutive hours, according to Zhao Jian, director of Earth Observation System and Data Center, China National Space Administration. Compared with traditional satellite platforms, this version's pointing accuracy and attitude stability are both increased by two orders of magnitude, said Zhao.

The major scientific payload of Xihe is a solar space telescope. The separation of the platform cabin and the payload cabin, a new design for the satellite, ensures the stable and precise observation of the telescope.

Due to the separation, traditional power supply cannot reach the telescope. A new technology was used to realize magnetic coupling wireless energy transmission. This is the first time that energy transmission technology with high power, high reliability and high efficiency is applied in a satellite.

The satellite set up a 5G high-speed communication channel for information transfer by using lasers and microwaves. Both wireless communication approaches can act as a backup for each other.