Posted: Mon, Apr 30, 2012, 6:17 AM ET (1017 GMT)
A Long March rocket placed two Beidou navigation satellites into orbit on Monday. The Long March 3B rocket lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 4:50 pm EDT Sunday (2050 GMT Sunday, 4:50 am Beijing time Monday) and placed two Beidou-2 satellites into medium Earth orbits. The satellites will be used as part of China's Beidou satellite navigation system, which currently provides satellite navigation services for China and plans to expand to global coverage by the end of the decade. The launch marked the first time that a single Long March rocket placed two Beidou satellites into orbit.

Related Links:

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