Posted: Fri, Jul 29, 2011, 8:35 AM ET (1235 GMT)
China launched the latest in a series of what government officials call "experimental" satellites on Friday. The Long March 2C rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 3:42 am EDT (0742 GMT, 3:42 pm Beijing time) Friday, carrying the Shijian 11-02 satellite. The spacecraft will be used to carry out scientific experiments in space, according to official Chinese accounts, although Western observers speculate it and others in that class are carrying out military missions, such as missile early warning detection. The launch was the second by China in less than a week, and the third this month.

Related Links:

•  NASASpaceFlight.com article
•  Xinhua article