China has officially announced that it has successfully rescued a pair of satellites after launch failure, marking a major milestone in the country’s growing space program.
The two satellites, named DRO-A and DRO-B, were part of a mission to provide navigation services for spacecraft. After a glitched launch in March 2024, efforts to dispose of the satellites were underway. However, instead of destroying them, the team behind the mission worked tirelessly for over 100 days to rescue the satellites.
The recovery effort was led by the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization (CSU), which used gravitational forces to shoot the satellites back into orbit. The process was complex and stressful, with the team facing significant challenges, including damaged satellite components that couldn’t absorb enough sunlight to power a turn.
“We divided into two teams,” said CSU researcher Zhang Hao. “One team remotely controlled the satellites’ thrusters, while the other team calculated the best route to move them back on track.” The team used this approach to complete a series of maneuvers over 123 days, with each step more challenging than the last.
The final maneuver took exactly 20 minutes and marked a major turning point in the recovery effort. With the satellites now successfully in orbit, China’s space program has taken a significant step forward in its pursuit of a robust navigation system.
“We just give it a target position, and the spacecraft will automatically find its way to the destination,” explained CSU researcher Wang Wenbin. “This new pilot system will help us launch and maintain spacecraft in the vast space around Earth and the moon.”
The successful rescue mission paves the way for China’s manned space program and its future lunar missions. With a constellation of satellites providing Beidou-like navigation services, China is poised to become a major player in global space exploration.
China Successfully Rescues Satellites After Record-Breaking 123-Day Mission
Source: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2025-04-17/Behind-China-s-123-day-space-rescue-The-math-that-defied-the-odds-1CCSpnwYuxa/p.html