China launches First Solar Observatory

• 20 Oct 2021

• On 14^th October 2021, China launched the Chinese H-alpha Solar Explorer (CHASE) and 10 other satellites into orbit during its 37th orbital launch of the year.
• CHASE is the country's first solar observatory equipped with a solar telescope that will observe the deep-red H-Alpha line of the solar spectrum that will help scientists in observing and studying solar flares.
• China's first solar observatory has been named ‘Xihe’ from the sun goddess in ancient Chinese mythology and has a design life of three years and will make observations until the upcoming solar maximum in 2025.
• China has also announced to launch the Advanced Space-born Solar Observatory (ASO-S) in 2022 as a follow-up mission after CHASE.