China launches orbiting solar observatory

China successfully launched a half-ton scientific research satellite Oct. 14 to study the violent and sudden physical processes behind solar flares, joining 10 other small payloads on a Long March 2D rocket that also tested grid fins to help guide the expendable booster away from populated areas during its fall back to Earth. The Long March 2D rocket blasted off from the Taiyuan launch base in Shanxi province, located in northern China, at 6:51 a.m. EDT (1251 GMT) on Oct. 14, according to China’s space agency. More

(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Oct 18)