The 10 ÑuSat payloads riding to space on this mission will form part of Satellogic's small satellite constellation called Aleph-1.

An Argentine company, each of Satellogic’s ÑuSats are named for a woman who was instrumental in her respective scientific field.

The satellites have a mass of 37 kg and are slightly wider and longer than a 17-inch laptop computer and stand slightly taller than a household coffee machine.

Each satellite also carries a small imaging system that can see in the visible and infrared light spectrums.

The Aleph-1 constellation will permit real-time Earth imaging and video with a ground resolution of 1 meter, or 3.3 feet.  Twenty-five satellites are planned for this constellation.

(Image: Satellogic)

Developed in the 2000s and flown for the first time in 2015, the Chang Zheng 6 is a rapid-response rocket for China built to take small payloads of up to 1,080 kg to low Earth orbit.

Part of a “family” of three rockets, the Chang Zheng 6 is the small-satellite launcher of the group, including Chang Zheng 7 as the medium-lift launcher and Chang Zheng 5 as the heavy-lift vehicle.

The Chang Zheng 6's first two stages burn rocket-grade kerosene, called RP-1, and liquid oxygen (like the Falcon 9, Atlas V, and Soyuz). Chang Zheng 6’s third stage burns a highly toxic mixture of hypergolic propellant.

Image: Xinhua News Agency

LA-16

Launch Area 16 is one of three sites built at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. It is specifically designed for the Chang Zheng 6 rocket.

Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center

The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center is located in Kelan County, Xinzhou, Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China.

It became fully operational in 1968 and is used primarily to launch weather, Earth observation, and science missions to Sun-synchronous orbits.

The launch site has also hosted Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles and Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile tests.

Taiyuan has three launch pads, LA-7, LA-9, and LA-16 and currently hosts the launches of the Chang Zheng 1D, 2C, 4A, 4B, 4C, and 6 rockets.