Tianlian
series of Chinese data tracking and relay communications satellites
Tianlian (Simplified Chinese: 天链, Traditional Chinese: 天鏈, English: Sky Link) also known as CTDRS, is a Chinese data relay communication satellite constellation. The constellation serves to relay data from ground stations to spacecraft and rockets, most significantly China's crewed spaceflight program. The system currently consists of twelve satellites of three generations, with the first satellite being launched in 2008.
Mission
Tianlian is used to provide real-time communications between orbiting satellites and ground control stations. The Chinese tracking and data relay satellites were developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and it is similar to the American Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) in concept. The system is designed to support near-real-time communications between orbiting spacecraft and ground control, as well as complement the ground-based space tracking and telemetry stations and ships in tracking spacecraft. This is necessary because ground stations can only maintain contact with a satellite while it is overhead. Positioning multiple satellites in geostationary orbit ensures that the ground station and satellite are both always in view of at least one relay satellite, allowing for constant communication between the ground station and target satellite. The system provides data relay services for crewed Shenzhou missions, from Shenzhou 7 onwards, the Tiangong space station, and interplanetary missions. All satellites were launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center and operate in geostationary orbit.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Tianlian” is series of Chinese data tracking and relay communications satellites. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Tianlian, series and Chinese, not as a finished interpretation.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7800236. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2008.
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This entry incorporates text from “Tianlian” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.