Posted: Fri, Dec 8, 2006, 8:43 AM ET (1343 GMT)
A Long March rocket launched China's second geostationary orbit weather satellite on Friday. The Long March 3A rocket lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China at 7:53 pm EDT Thursday (0053 GMT, 8:53 am Beijing time Friday) and placed the Fengyun-2D (FY-2D) into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The spacecraft, with a mass of 1,390 kg, will operate at 86.5 degrees east in GEO. FY-2D will join FY-2C, China's first GEO weather satellite, launched in 2004. The satellite will be used primarily to monitor weather conditions in western China and also support weather forecasting for the 2008 Olympics. The spacecraft has a three-year on-orbit lifetime.

Related Links:

•  Xinhua article
•  Shanghai Daily article