On December 10 at 00:11 UTC, a Chinese Long March 4B launched the Shijian 6 group 5 satellites into orbit from the Jiquan Satellite Launch Center in China.

The satellite’s mission was described as, you guessed it, “space environment exploration and new technology test verification”. Shijian 6 satellites have been launched in pairs every few years since 2004.

This launch marked the 400th launch of a Long March series rocket since its debut on April 24, 1970. According to the China National Space Administration, the first one hundred launches took 37 years. After that, the second one hundred launch mark was reached in seven years. The third one hundred launch mark was hit in four years, and this final set was obtained in just two and three-quarter years. In all of those launches, 700 spacecraft have been sent into orbit. The last hundred launches include missions like Chang’e 5 which successfully performed a lunar sample return, and Tianwen-1, China’s first Mars mission.

More Information

CNSA press release

China successfully launches Group 05 satellites of Shishi-6 (KJT)