China pilots opening quasi real-time solar exploration data to public

Taking into account satellite operation and other factors, the current conditions have allowed them to open some data to the public in quasi real-time, Gan said.

Kuafu 1 was launched aboard a Long March 2D rocket on Oct 9 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China.

The space-borne solar observatory, named after Kuafu - a giant in Chinese mythology who indefatigably chased the sun, runs in a sun-synchronous orbit, which is not hampered by the Earth's rotation, while an Earth-based telescope can see the Sun only in the daytime.