Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/BEIJING: China, in its first space launch of 2023, successfully sent three new satellites into orbit on Monday, the state news agency (Xinhua) reported.
The satellites named Shijian-23, Shiyan-22A, and Shiyan-22B were blasted off aboard a modified version of the Long March-7 carrier rocket at 22:00 GMT Sunday (6 am Beijing time) from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan.
It was the 459th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.
Satellites to be used in scientific trials, other purposes
The newly launched object will be “used for scientific experiments, technical verification, and in-orbit verification tests of new technologies such as space environment monitoring.”
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the state-owned contractor for the Chinese space program, last week announced plans for over 50 aerospace tasks in 2023. It added that China’s T-shaped Tiangong Space Station will also resume normal operations this year.
