The CTS is an
upper stage developed by the
China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) to improve the performance of the
Long March 2C to high (>400 km of altitude)
LEO
Leo or Léo may refer to:
Acronyms
* Law enforcement officer
* Law enforcement organisation
* ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky
* Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity
Arts an ...
missions like
SSO. The two stage LM-2 delivers the payload and stage to an elliptical orbit with the desired apogee and the CTS points the stack in the direction of the correct vector and activates the solid rocket motor (SRM) main engine to circularize it. It then dispenses the spacecraft and does a passivisation procedure.
History
It was initially developed as the SD stage for the initial deployment of the initial deployment of the
Iridium constellation in 1997.
In the 1999 LM-2C User Manual it was offered as the CTS option and flew to deploy the
Double Star
In observational astronomy, a double star or visual double is a pair of stars that appear close to each other as viewed from Earth, especially with the aid of optical telescopes.
This occurs because the pair either forms a binary star (i.e. a bi ...
mission. Later it flew twice as part of the dual deployment system SMA, first for the deployment of the
Huanjing 1A and 1B and in 2012 for the
Shijian 9A
Shijian (, abbr. "SJ") is a series of satellites built and operated by the People's Republic of China. Some Shijian-series satellites have drawn significant concerns from the United States government and space observers who cite unannounced laun ...
and
Shijian 9A
Shijian (, abbr. "SJ") is a series of satellites built and operated by the People's Republic of China. Some Shijian-series satellites have drawn significant concerns from the United States government and space observers who cite unannounced laun ...
technology demonstrator missions.
Design
It is composed of the Spacecraft Adapter and Orbital Maneuver System (OMS). The Spacecraft Adapter is customized to the user's requirement, particularly in the separation environment and pointing accuracy.
The OMS is composed by:
* Main structure
* Control system (avionics)
* Telemetry system
* Solid rocket motor (SRM)
* Reaction control system (RCS)
Versions
The basic system has been offered in three different versions:
* SD: Initial version used exclusively for the Iridium fleet deployment.
* CTS: Improved commercial version offered in the 1999 User Manual with 3 axis stabilization.
* SMA: Government version which includes a dual
payload adapter
Payload is the object or the entity which is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature o ...
.
See also
*
Long March 2C
*
CALT
*
ETS
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Climate change, environment and economy
* Emissions trading scheme
** European Union Emission Trading Scheme
Organisations
* European Thermoelectric Society
* Evangelical Theological Society
Education
* École de techno ...
*
Star 37
*
Star 48
The Star 48 is the largest of a family of solid rocket motors used by many space propulsion and launch vehicle stages. It is used almost exclusively as an upper stage. It was developed primarily by Thiokol Propulsion and is now, after several me ...
*
Payload Assist Module
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:CTS
Rocket stages
Solid-fuel rockets
Rocket engines of China