China successfully launched 20 artificial satellites into their planned orbits on Saturday aboard two carrier rockets, "Smart Dragon-3" (SD-3) and "Long March."
According to the Chinese news agency Xinhua, the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center launched a carrier rocket of the "Smart Dragon-3 (SD-3)" type, carrying nine artificial satellites into their planned orbits.
The launch took place at 11:06 a.m. Beijing time off the coast of Yangjiang in Guangdong province, southern China. This launch marks the third mission for the "Smart Dragon-3" rocket series.
Additionally, China launched 11 artificial satellites into space on the same day from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province, southwest China.
The group of 11 satellites, known as "Jieli-02," was carried into orbit by the "Long March-2C" carrier rocket. The launch occurred at 7:37 a.m. Beijing time, and all satellites entered their designated orbits.
This space mission is the 508th launch of the "Long March" carrier rocket series.
Furthermore, the China National Space Administration announced plans to launch the Chinese satellite "Queqiao-2" to facilitate communications between the far side of the moon and Earth during the first half of this year.
The satellite will be transported to the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Hainan province in southern China, where pre-launch tests will be conducted as scheduled.
The relevant facilities at the launch site are currently in good condition, and preparatory work is ongoing.