Tracking ship Yuanwang-6 departs on mission

China’s space tracking ship Yuanwang-6 departed from a port in Jiangsu Province on Monday for multiple spacecraft monitoring missions.

Yuanwang-6, the third-generation Yuanwang space tracking ship, will carry out missions in the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. It will complete a one-way voyage of more than 10,000 nautical miles and operate at sea for 100 days.

This is the first time for a Yuanwang ship to perform missions in the three oceans during a single voyage.

Yang Bianjiao, captain of Yuanwang-6, said crew members had conducted drills, devised action plans and inspected facilities ahead of the trip.

The ship has completed an overhaul, maritime calibration tests, equipment precision appraisals and two satellite maritime monitoring missions this year.