China sends classified Shijian satellites into orbit with milestone Long March launch

A Long March 4B launched the Shijian-06 (05) group of satellites Dec. 9, marking the 400th launch of China’s Long March family of launch vehicles. The Long March 4B lifted off from Site 9401 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 7:11 p.m. Eastern, rising into a dark blue pre-dawn desert sky. The Shijian-6 (05) satellites, which could be a pair of satellites to join four earlier pairs satellites in the series, with the previous launch occurring in 2010, were developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and Aerospace Dongfanghong Satellite Co., Ltd. More

(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 11)