China’s Long March 4B launches three satellites

China yesterday used its Long March 4B rocket to launch three satellites into orbit.

This was the first Long March 4 launch since May, when the third stage of a Long March 4C rocket failed. The main payload was a remote sensing satellite with both civilian and military applications. The second satellite was to provide ocean data and weather, with the third a cubesat testing new space communications and the use of a drag sail for de-orbiting.

The leaders in the 2019 launch race:

15 China
14 Russia
10 SpaceX
6 Europe (Arianespace)

The U.S. continues to lead China 19 to 15 in the national rankings.

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China successfully launches three military satellites

The launch race: China today successfully launched three military satellites, using its Long March 4B rocket.

As is typical of Chinese military launches, no information was released about the satellites, and there was no publicity about the launch prior to liftoff. This launch however puts China ahead of the U.S. in total launches in 2018, 11 to 10. The leaders in the 2018 launch standings are as follows:

11 China
7 SpaceX
3 Japan
3 Russia
3 ULA
3 Europe

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