Posted: Mon, Nov 16, 2009, 6:40 AM ET (1140 GMT)
A Long March rocket placed a Chinese research satellite into orbit last week with little fanfare. The Long March 2C rocket lifted off at 9:45 pm EST Wednesday (0245 GMT, 10:45 am Beijing time Thursday) from the Jiuquan launch site and placed the Shijian 11-01 satellite into low Earth orbit. The satellite will perform unspecified scientific research, according to Chinese media reports. Plans for the launch were reported in state-run media less than 24 hours before the launch, and the launch itself got very little media attention.
