Spaceflight Now | Breaking News | Two more satellites placed into orbit by China

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Two more satellites placed into orbit by China
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: November 5, 2008

China launched two new satellites early Wednesday, marking the country's third launch in less than three weeks.

The spacecraft launched aboard a Long March 2D rocket at 0015 GMT Wednesday (7:15 p.m. EST Tuesday). Blastoff occurred just after sunrise at the Jiuquan launch center in northwestern China.

The two-stage booster delivered the payloads to a sun-synchronous orbit about 500 miles high, according to space tracking data.

Shiyan 3 will test new technologies for atmospheric exploration, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

The spacecraft was built by the Harbin Institute of Technology.

The rocket's other payload, named Chuangxin 1-02, is a small communications satellite to relay weather and Earth observation data from other spacecraft. The satellite is the second of its type developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinhua reported.

Wednesday's launch was the 8th space launch of the year for the Chinese space program. It was also the 56th launch to successfully reach orbit in 2008.