Two technology demonstration satellites for satellite transmissions of signals for the VHF Data Exchange System (VDES), a successor to the current Automatic Identification System (AIS) on ships and maritime vessels for traffic management at sea with higher bandwidth on new frequencies for secure communications and e-navigation. This project is a joint effort by the China Ministry of Transport's China Transport Telecommunications Information Center and SpaceSail, operator of the Qianfan/G60 constellation.
Low Earth OrbitShenzhou 22 (Chinese: 神舟二十二号) will be the 22nd flight of the Shenzhou program. The spacecraft will be launched without crew to replace Shenzhou 20 that was damaged by orbital debris on the descent module porthole window, and thus deemed unsuitable for crew re-entry. The spacecraft will later return three Chinese astronauts on the 10th flight to the Chinese Space Station back to Earth, after launching on Shenzhou 21.
Low Earth Orbit