China launches pair of mysterious Earth-mapping satellites

China launched a pair of cartography satellites on Thursday (March 9) to boost the country's Earth observation and mapping capabilities. A Long March 4C rocket lifted off into a pre-dawn sky above Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China at 5:41 p.m. EST on Thursday (2241 GMT, or 6:41 a.m. Beijing time on March 10), shedding insulation tiles as it climbed. More

(Source: Space.com - Mar 14)