Science
KX-09
Chinese Gravitational Wave Detector Technology Precursor · DFH Satellite Co. (China)
Right now
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KX-09, also known as Taizhi-1, tests four technologies at once that only matter if you're trying to detect ripples in spacetime itself: a laser interferometer accurate to 100 picometers, thrusters so fine they can be throttled in increments of a single micronewton, and a drag-free control system that cancels out every tiny push from sunlight and atmospheric drag so the satellite can coast in a perfectly undisturbed free-fall. This is the exact hardware China needs working flawlessly before it can attempt Tianqin — its planned space-based gravitational wave observatory, built explicitly to rival Europe's LISA.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 356–366 mi (573–588 km)
- Inclination
- 97.8°
- One orbit
- 96.1 minutes15.0 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 44520
- Int’l designator
- 2019-058B
- Launched
- 2019
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.