Chinese-Brazilian Earth observation satellite launched

An Earth-watching satellite developed by China and Brazil lifted off on a Long March 4B rocket Saturday, replacing an environmental craft lost in a launch mishap last year. The CBERS 4 spacecraft — the fifth in a series of joint China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellites — lifted off at 0326 GMT Sunday (10:26 p.m. EST Saturday) from the Taiyuan space center in northern China’s Shanxi province, where it was 11:26 a.m. local time. A Long March 4B rocket boosted the 2.3-ton satellite into orbit about 460 miles, or 740 kilometers, above Earth. The launcher’s third stage deployed the CBERS 4 spacecraft in orbit about 12 minutes after liftoff, according to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, known by the acronym INPE. More

(Source: SpaceFLight Now - Dec 8)