16 April 2021
China has completed an upgrade of the ground system for its first-generation relay satellite, Tianlian 1, according to the Beijing Space Information Transmission Centre. The 4-year upgrade was successfully completed following maintenance downtime for the Tianlian 1-02 relay satellite's ground system. The upgrade enables the country to operate its two generations of relay satellite systems, Tianlian 1 and Tianlian 2-1, in an integrated manner and marks a major advance in the space-based tracking, telemetry and control (TT&C). It also greatly enhances the reliability of the relay satellite systems, as well as their maintainable and automatic natures.
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