China places 1st satellite of year into orbit
Launch kicks off what's expected to be busy year ahead for space sector
China launched a Long March 3B carrier rocket early on Tuesday morning to deploy an experimental satellite into space, fulfilling the country's first space mission of 2025.
The rocket blasted off at 4 am from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province and soon placed the Shijian 25 satellite into its intended orbit, according to the State-owned conglomerate China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the nation's dominant space contractor.
The company said in a news release that the satellite was built by its subsidiary Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology and is tasked with verifying orbital refueling and life-extension technologies.
The Long March 3B rocket was made by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology in Beijing, another CASC subsidiary. The mid-lift model stands at 56.3 meters and has a diameter of 3.35 meters. Propelled by liquid-propellant engines, each Long March 3B has three stages and four 2.25-meter-wide side boosters, and weighs 456 metric tons when filled with fuel.
