China Launches Two Demonstration Satellites to Space

Chinese Long March 2C Rocket Launch, Oct. 14, 2012 — A Long March 2C rocket carrying two satellites blasts off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China on Oct. 14, 2012. (Image credit: China Academy of Space Technology)

China successfully launched a Long March 2C rocket Sunday (Oct. 14), orbiting a pair of engineering research satellites to test new technologies in space, according to state-run media reports.

The Long March 2C launcher lifted off at 11:25 a.m. Beijing time Sunday (0325 GMT; 11:25 p.m. EDT Saturday) from the Taiyuan space center in northern China's Shanxi province, a remote site about 265 miles (426 kilometers) southwest of Beijing.

Shijian means "practice" in Chinese.

Sunday's launch marked China's 14th space launch of 2012 and the 56th mission to reach orbit worldwide this year.

Stephen Clark is the Editor of Spaceflight Now, a web-based publication dedicated to covering rocket launches, human spaceflight and exploration. He joined the Spaceflight Now team in 2009 and previously wrote as a senior reporter with the Daily Texan. You can follow Stephen's latest project at SpaceflightNow.com and on Twitter.