China launches its first commercial radio-tracking satellites in electronic warfare leap
China has just taken a quiet but critical step in space-based electronic warfare.
A Lijian-1 Y18 rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northern China at noon on Sunday, carrying nine satellites. Among them were three Diting-01 satellites, which successfully entered their planned orbit.
The trio is named after Diting, a beast from Chinese mythology that crouches beneath the desk of Ksitigarbha, the bodhisattva of the underworld, and can identify all things simply by listening.
The name perfectly captures what these satellites are designed to do.
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