China launches third Gaofen-9 satellite, postpones Beidou mission

China launched a Gaofen-9 series Earth observation satellite and two smaller spacecraft Wednesday, a day after postponing a Beidou navigation satellite mission due to unspecified issues. Liftoff of a Long March 2D carrying the Gaofen-9 (03) took place at 3:19 a.m. Eastern at Jiuquan in the Gobi Desert. Launch success was confirmed (Chinese) by main contractor CASC within 30 minutes of liftoff. More

(Source: Space News - Jun 18)