Posted: Fri, Jan 13, 2012, 9:20 PM ET (0220 GMT)
A Long March rocket placed a weather satellite into orbit on Friday. The Long March 3A rocket lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 7:56 pm EST Thursday (0056 GMT, 8:56 am Beijing time Friday) and placed the FengYun-2F into geosynchronous transfer orbit. The satellite is the latest in a series of geosynchronous orbit weather satellites that operate from 105 degrees east, providing images and other meteorological data. The launch was the second in under a week by China; the two launches are the first two orbital launches of 2012.

Related Links:

•  NASASpaceFlight.com article
•  Spaceflight Now article
•  Xinhua article