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China and France launch satellite to better understand the universe
China and France launch satellite to better understand the universe
A French-Chinese satellite blasted off Saturday on a hunt for the mightiest explosions in the universe, in a notable example of cooperation between a Western power and the Asian giant.
Issued on: 22/06/2024 - 10:32 3 min
A Long March 2-C rocket carrying a satellite jointly developed by China and France dubbed the Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM), lifts off from a space base in Xichang, in China’s southwestern Sichuan province on June 22, 2024. © Adek Berry, AFP
By: NEWS WIRES
Developed by engineers from both countries, the Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM) will seek out gamma-ray bursts, the light from which has travelled billions of light years to reach Earth.
The 930-kilogram satellite carrying four instruments -- two French, two Chinese -- took off around 3:00 pm (0700 GMT) aboard a Chinese Long March 2-C rocket from a space base in Xichang, in the southwestern province of Sichuan, AFP journalists witnessed.
Gamma-ray bursts generally occur after the explosion of huge stars -- those more than 20 times as big as the sun -- or the fusion of compact stars.
The extremely bright cosmic beams can give off a blast of energy equivalent to over a billion billion suns.
[...]
A French-Chinese satellite blasted off Saturday on a hunt for the mightiest explosions in the universe, in a notable example of cooperation between a Western power and the Asian giant.
Issued on: 22/06/2024 - 10:32 3 min
A Long March 2-C rocket carrying a satellite jointly developed by China and France dubbed the Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM), lifts off from a space base in Xichang, in China’s southwestern Sichuan province on June 22, 2024. © Adek Berry, AFP
By: NEWS WIRES
Developed by engineers from both countries, the Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM) will seek out gamma-ray bursts, the light from which has travelled billions of light years to reach Earth.
The 930-kilogram satellite carrying four instruments -- two French, two Chinese -- took off around 3:00 pm (0700 GMT) aboard a Chinese Long March 2-C rocket from a space base in Xichang, in the southwestern province of Sichuan, AFP journalists witnessed.
Gamma-ray bursts generally occur after the explosion of huge stars -- those more than 20 times as big as the sun -- or the fusion of compact stars.
The extremely bright cosmic beams can give off a blast of energy equivalent to over a billion billion suns.
[...]