China Launches Yuanzheng 1S Upper Stage Aboard a Long March Carrier Rocket

A Yuanzheng 1S upper stage aboard a Long March 2C carrier rocket was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu Province on May 20, sending three experimental communication satellites into low-Earth orbit.

A Long March 2C carrier rocket carrying a Yuanzheng 1S upper stage blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu Province on May 20. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

The satellites will be used for communication technological experiment verification in low-Earth orbit. One of them was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

The Long March 2C carrier rocket developed by CASC's China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology is a normal temperature liquid carrier rocket and is mainly used to launch satellites to sun-synchronous orbit and low-Earth orbit.

A Yuanzheng 1S upper stage aboard a Long March 2C carrier rocket is ready for launch at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu Province on May 20. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

The launch on May 20 was the 4th mission for the Yuanzheng 1S upper stage and the 421st mission for the Long March series carrier rockets.

(Executive editor: Wang Ruoting)