At 17:00 Beijing Time on December 5, 2025, a Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, successfully delivering the Traffic VDES Satellite A and Satellite B into their predetermined orbits. The solar arrays deployed successfully, and the launch mission was a complete success. The satellites are equipped with two TySpace PST3S-H5 pico star trackers.
PST3S-H5 star tracker
The Traffic VDES Satellites A and B, developed by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of Chinese Academy of Science, are equipped with VDES (VHF Data Exchange System) payloads and laser payloads. They possess capabilities for communication with maritime vessels and inter-satellite data exchange, and will play
an important role in the field of low-Earth orbit satellite communications.
In line with the development trend of the “Star Era” of commercial aerospace, TYspace has taken the lead in realizing mass production of star Trackers in China. Board-level screening, electronics testing, whole-machine thermal cycle, thermal vacuum vibration, and field stargazing have all been completed in batches automatically. All test reports and test results are automatically output, and the remote monitoring process is clear and more efficient. The annual output can reach 2,000 sets, which can meet the satellite factory’s mass production requirements for high performance, high reliability, high output, and high delivery speed of star Tracker products. So far, TYspace star Tracker products have successfully operated more than 1000 in orbit!