China sends new satellite into space

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – China on Thursday launched a new satellite into space.

The Shiyan-11 satellite was sent into space from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center based in northwest China, state media reported.

Indigenously built Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket moved the satellite to the planned orbit successfully.

It was the 13th flight of the Kuaizhou-1A rocket series.

“Shiyan-11 is built for testing, but the purpose of the satellite’s latest mission has not yet been revealed,” public broadcaster CGTN reported.

The last Shiyan satellite, the Shiyan-10, “didn’t work as intended after being successfully launched into the planned orbit.”

Kuaizhou-1A is a small-sized rocket that has fast deployment speed and is designed and manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation.

It was the second launch of a satellite by China this week.

On Tuesday, China sent into space an Earth-observation satellite from the same Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

The satellite was carried by Long March-4C rocket and entered the planned orbit successfully.

It is expected the satellite will help improve the monitoring capabilities of marine ship observations, as well as the monitoring of emergencies at sea and the land-sea natural environment.

It was the 398th flight of the Long March rockets.