China adds to its eyes in sky, launches satellite for testing

Beijing: China on Thursday successfully launched a new satellite into space for testing, the official media reported.The Shiyan-11 satellite was launched aboard a Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert in Inner Mongolia. The satellite has since entered its predetermined orbit, the China Global Television Network (CGTN) reported.

Shiyan-11 is built for testing, but the purpose of the satellite’s latest mission has not yet been revealed, it said. Another series of Chinese satellites called Shijian is used for technology verification. The latest Shijian satellite, the Shijian-21, was launched in October, while the previous Shiyan satellite, the Shiyan-10, didn’t work as intended after being successfully launched into the planned orbit.

Kuaizhou-1A, a generalpurpose, small-sized rocket series featuring fast deployment speed, is designed and manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation for commercial launches, the report said. China now has three Gaofen 11 satellites, with the new satellite joining predecessors launched in 2018 and 2020, with a rocket stage from the latter landing near a school. The launches were China’s 44th and 45th of 2021, extending a national record for orbital launches in a calendar year. In comparison, the U.S. has launched 44 times, including five launches of Rocket Lab’s Electron from New Zealand. -(AP)