TECMS (Guomang)

TECMS [CAS]

TECMS (Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Monitoring Satellite) or Guomang is an Earth observation satellite of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration of the People's Republic of China for the documentation of carbon sinks on the mainland, especially the forests.

The satellite, which weighs around 500 kg and has a planned service life of 4 years, is powered by two fold-out solar cell wings, each with two modules. It has four payloads:

  • Five-beam lidar for measuring tree height via the time difference between tree tops and ground. 200 laser flashes per second, distance between the measuring points 100 m.
  • Five-angle multispectral camera for measuring the height and area of the plant cover, i.e. the volume of the carbon sinks.
  • Optical grating hyperspectral meter for determining chlorophyll fluorescence.
  • Aerosol meter: polarimeter with 35 different polarization angles to determine the level of fine dust in the air in the horizontal direction and lidar to determine the level of fine dust in the vertical direction.

The satellite was launched into Sun-synchronous orbit on 4 August 2022 by a CZ-4B launch vehicle from the Taiyuan Cosmodrome.

Nation: China
Type / Application: Earth Science
Operator: CRESDA, State Forestry and Grassland Administration of the People's Republic of China
Contractors:
Equipment: HIS
Configuration:
Propulsion:
Power: 2 deployable solar arrays, batteries
Lifetime: 4 years
Mass: ~500 kg
Orbit: 517 km SSO
Satellite COSPAR Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
TECMS (Guomang) 2022-090A 04.08.2022 TY LC-9 CZ-4B with Minhang Shaonian, HEAD 2G

Launch Sites:

  • TY =   Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC), Wuzhai, Shanxi, China   China

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