China has added a new batch of three spacecraft to a classified series of orbiting Yaogan satellites.
A Long March 2C rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 9:09 p.m. EDT on Oct. 22 (0109 GMT and 9:09 a.m. Beijing time on Oct. 23), rising into overcast skies above the spaceport in southwestern China.
The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) revealed that the mission carried three Yaogan-43 (03) satellites, marking the third launch of the satellite series.
No images of the satellites were published. CALT and Chinese state media described the spacecraft only vaguely, stating they will be “mainly used for tests on new technologies for low-orbit constellations.”
Related: China’s Long March rocket family: History and photos
The launch follows two earlier Yaogan-43 missions in August and September. The first launched on a Long March 4B from Xichang and carried nine satellites, while the second group — also aboard a Long March 4B — consisted of six satellites.
The new additions joined the 15 earlier satellites in orbits of around 310 miles (500 kilometers) in altitude with an inclination of 35 degrees.
CALT stated that its expendable Long March 2C rocket would carry out multiple launches before the end of 2024.
The launch was China’s 51st of 2024, and follows three launches over the past week. The activity saw the country launch a second batch of 18 satellites for its “Thousand Sails” low Earth orbit megaconstellation, a new Gaofen-12 remote sensing satellite, and three Tianping-3 radar calibration satellites.
China is currently preparing to launch its Shenzhou-19 crewed mission from Jiuquan. A Long March 2F rocket will send three astronauts to the Tiangong space station to begin a six-month-long stay in space.
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