Military communications satellite launched by China

A Chinese communications satellite, potentially designed to relay messages between Chinese military forces, blasted off on a Long March rocket Sunday. The Chinasat 1A spacecraft launched at 1633 GMT (12:33 p.m. EDT) Sunday from the Xichang space base in southwestern China's Sichuan province. It was 12:33 a.m. local time at the launch site. A Long March 3B/E rocket lifted the 11,500-pound satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit with a high point of more than 22,200 miles, a low point of almost 120 miles and an inclination of 27 degrees, according to U.S. military tracking data. More

(Source: Space Flight Now - Sep 19)