China successfully launches new Long March 7A on second attempt

China launched a new-generation Long March 7A rocket Thursday, sending a classified, experimental payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit. Liftoff from the coastal Wenchang Satellite Launch Center occurred at 12:51 p.m. Eastern March 11. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC), the country’s main space contractor, confirmed launch success 40 minutes later (Chinese). The payload was the Shiyan-9, or “experiment-9”, technology verification satellite. It was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a CASC subsidiary. More

(Source: SpaceNews - Mar 12)