This is the 15th planned flight of the Orbital ATK's uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its 14th flight to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. This Cygnus spacecraft carries the name of NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla, who was the first female astronaut of Indian descent.
Low Earth OrbitGonets-M are an upgraded version of Gonets satellites, derived from military communications system Strela-3. Gonets-M constellation is tasked with monitoring ecological and industrial objects, providing communication and data transmission services, covering also the remote areas like the Far North region. This launch also carries 22 small satellites as a rideshare payloads. These are cubesats for commercial companies such as Spire and Kepler Communications, as well as cubesats for various international universities.
Low Earth OrbitHuanjing (abbreviated as HJ) is a constellation of environmental monitoring satellites. The HJ-2A and HJ-2B are 16-meter optical satellites which will provide 16-meter multispectral, 48-meter hyperspectral and infrared image data.
Sun-Synchronous OrbitGaofen is a series of civilian Earth observation satellites developed and launched for the China High-definition Earth Observation System (CHEOS), a state-sponsored programme aimed to develop a near-real time, all-weather, global surveillance network consisting of satellite, near-space (stratosphere) airships, and aerial observation platforms.
Sun-Synchronous OrbitThe payload is an experimental reusable spacecraft. It is rumored to be a prototype of a reusable spaceplane (similar to Boeing X-37B vehicle). The spacecraft stayed in orbit for two days and returned to Earth on September 6. Though the landing site was not disclosed, the spacecraft is presumed to have landed at an airbase near Lop Nor nuclear test site.
Low Earth Orbit