Beijing (TDI): China has successfully established the world’s first three-satellite constellation on the distant retrograde orbit in the Earth-moon region of space, connecting them with stable inter-satellite measurement and communication links.
This development has produced a range of groundbreaking scientific and technology results, laying a strong foundation for China’s future advancements in the Earth-moon region of space and the exploration of space science frontiers.
Earth-moon region of space refers to the expanded domain extending outward from the planet’s orbit, reaching up to two million kilometers from Earth.
Compared to Earth’s orbital space, its three-dimensional volume expands by over a thousand times.
Developing and utilizing cislunar space holds tremendous strategic importance for lunar resource exploitation, long-term human habitation beyond planet, interplanetary activities, and the continued exploration of the solar system.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) launched preliminary research and major technology development in this region in 2017.
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In February 2022, a pilot project was started to develop and launch 3 satellites to form a large-scale satellite constellation in the region of space, aimed at exploring the unique characteristics and application potential of the distant retrograde orbit.
The DRO-A and -B satellites were launched in March last year, and entered their mission orbit on July 15, while the DRO-L was launched in February 2024 into a sun-synchronous orbit and started conducting experiments as planned.
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The three satellites formed the constellation for the first time in August 2024.
The plan included DRO-A satellite permanently staying in the distant retrograde orbit, while the DRO-B satellite operates in Earth-moon space maneuver orbits.
