NANJING, Oct. 19 -- China's third-generation space-tracking ship Yuanwang-6, which voyaged to the Atlantic Ocean for the first time, has safely returned to the homeport at the China Satellite Maritime Tracking and Controlling Department on October 17, after successfully completing two maritime monitoring missions.
During its 96-day voyage, Yuanwang-6 continuously traversed the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean, safely sailing nearly 30,000 nautical miles. This trip set several records among the Yuanwang series vessels, including the longest time on the sea, the largest time difference span and the highest latitude for navigation. During this period, Yuanwang-6 has completed two maritime track and control missions, including the one for Tianwen-1 Mars probe.
On July 23 this year, China successfully launched the Tianwen-1 Mars probe. The Yuanwang-6 ship on standby in a particular area of the Pacific Ocean captured and tracked the target at the seventh minute after the rocket took off and carried out relevant data processing, status monitoring, and information exchange.
It is reported that up to now, Yuanwang-6 has successfully completed maritime tracking and control for 61 major space launches, including Shenzhou, Chang'e, Tiangong, BeiDou and Fengyun, and has covered a total range of more than 400,000 nautical miles.
