China launches classified Shiyan-19 test satellite from the Gobi Desert

China launched a new classified satellite Wednesday as part of an apparent space systems development test program. A Long March 11 solid rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 7:41 a.m. Eastern, March 15, rising into the dusk above the Gobi Desert. The state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced within an hour of launch that the payload, designated Shiyan-19, had successfully entered its intended, near-polar orbit. More

(Source: SpaceNews - Mar 16)