
BEIJING, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- China launched a secret reconnaissance satellite with a Long March rocket Monday, the sixth satellite it has launched this year, authorities said.
The mission lifted off aboard a Long March 4C rocket from the Taiyuan launching center in northern China's Shanxi province, SPACE.com reported.
Independent tracking data showed the three-stage booster placing the satellite in an orbit about 380 miles high.
The state-run Xinhua news agency said the satellite would conduct scientific experiments, make land surveys, estimate crop yields and help respond to natural disasters.
But observers say it is likely a military high-resolution optical and radar reconnaissance satellite, SPACE.com said.
The Yoagon series of satellites began launching in 2006, and a recent launch in March included three spacecraft believed to be naval observation satellites.
In a move typical of China's policy regarding military payloads, the launch was announced less than 24 hours in advance, SPACE.com said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Additional Science News Stories | |
WASHINGTON, May 31 (UPI) --
The U.S. House Thursday rejected a bill that would outlaw abortions based on gender, with abortion opponents promising to make the vote an election issue.
|
The latest news on today's hottest celebrities ...
|
BALTIMORE, May 31 (UPI) --
U.S. astronomers are forecasting the Milky Way will have a violent collision with the neighboring Andromeda galaxy in about 4 billion years.
|
Nine sets of twins to graduate together … 93-year-old man competing as sprinter … Police: Drug dealers texted officer … Police: Arrested suspect stole handcuffs … The world as we know it from UPI.
|
| Stories | Photos | People | Comments |
View Caption