Science
CHUANGXIN 1 (CX-1)
Chinese Technology Demonstrator / Data Relay · Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Right now
LiveIt moves every second. See exactly where it is — worked out from its orbit, on your own device — on the live 3D globe.
- Over
- —
- Altitude
- —
- Speed
- —
The first satellite in China's Chuangxin ('Innovation') series — small technology demonstration satellites built by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Shanghai Engineering Center for Microsatellites. Launched in 2003, CX-1 tested store-and-forward data relay technology, collecting environmental and hydrological sensor data from remote ground stations across China and relaying it when passing over a receiving station. It was one of China's earliest steps toward an indigenous small-satellite industry, years before the country's commercial space sector existed in any recognizable form.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 451–461 mi (726–742 km)
- Inclination
- 98.5°
- One orbit
- 99.3 minutes14.5 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 28058
- Int’l designator
- 2003-049B
- Launched
- 2003
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
More science
- CHUANGXIN 1-02 (CX-1-02)Chinese Technology Demonstrator / Data Relay
- CHUANGXIN 1-03 (CX-1-03)Chinese Technology Demonstrator / Data Relay
- CHUANGXIN 1-04 (CX-1-04)Chinese Technology Demonstrator / Data Relay
- CHUANGXIN 16A (CX-16A)Chinese Technology Demonstrator
- CHUANGXIN 16B (CX-16B)Chinese Technology Demonstrator
- CHUANGXIN 19 (CX-19)Chinese Technology Demonstrator