Long March 2C • SVOM

A Chinese Long March 2C rocket launched the Space-based multi-band astronomical Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM) spacecraft. The satellite is a dual Franco-Chinese mission, which is “dedicated to the study of the most distant explosions of stars, the gamma-ray bursts.”  There are four main instruments on board, two of which are French and two which are Chinese. The spacecraft launched to a 625-km Earth orbit and will operate for at least three years with an option to extend for another two years beyond that. Delayed from late 2023.