China’s Long March 8 rocket successful in debut launch

A new Chinese launch vehicle, the Long March 8, has successfully placed five payloads into orbit on its first mission, debuting an expendable booster intended to eventually be outfitted for recovery and reuse. The Long March 8 rocket took off from the Wenchang satellite launch center on Hainan Island, China’s newest spaceport, at 11:37 p.m. EST Dec. 20 (0437 GMT; 12:37 p.m. Beijing time Dec. 21), Chinese space program officials said. More

(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 28)