A carrier rocket carrying the last satellite of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, June 23, 2020. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing)
BEIJING, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- China plans to launch a space telescope for research in electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational waves in December, according to the National Space Science Center under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
The telescope, Gravitational Wave High-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM), will be launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province.
The GECAM mission is composed of two small satellites, and it will focus on detecting electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational waves, high-energy radiation from fast radio bursts, various gamma-ray bursts, and magnetar flares.
The GECAM could help scientists unravel the mysteries of compact objects, such as neutron stars and black holes, as well as the merger of binary compact objects.
The space telescope will be an important part of China's space science satellites. The country plans to launch more space science satellites in the next three to four years, according to the CAS. ■
