China launches military satellites into orbit after delay

China sent new military satellites to orbit Wednesday (Nov. 3) for an undisclosed mission, following a lengthy launch delay.

State media reported the second cluster of Yaogan-32 satellites flew to space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center near the Gobi Desert at 3:43 a.m. EDT (0743 GMT or 3:43 p.m. local time.)

"Entering the scheduled orbit, the launch mission was a complete success," said the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) in mission report machine-translated into English.

The satellites went to orbit aboard a Long March 2C rocket, the same booster type that launched the previous set of Yaogan-32 satellites to space in 2018. At the time, state media provider Xinhua said the satellites would be "used for electromagnetic environment surveys and other related technology tests," according to NASASpaceflight.com.

Related: The latest news about China's space program

A Long March 2C rocket launched remote-sensing Yaogan-32 family satellites from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Nov. 3, 2021. (Image credit: CASC)

State media had much the same description for the new set of satellites launching to space, with Space China saying the Yaogan-32 series would "carry out electromagnetic environment detection and related technical tests." Xinhua's short news report, though, did not have a description of the mission.

The mission was originally set to launch in mid-September, but was delayed for undisclosed reasons.

China operates its space program independently of other countries and has a tradition of only mentioning launches after the fact. In recent months, the country has come under criticism from senior NASA leadership for its activities in space, including allowing a large rocket to fall uncontrolled from orbit. (No one, ultimately, was injured.)

Last week, China reported it had set a new record of orbital launches in 2021, with 40 missions put into space.

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Elizabeth Howell
Former Staff Writer, Spaceflight (July 2022-November 2024)

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., was a staff writer in the spaceflight channel between 2022 and 2024 specializing in Canadian space news. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years from 2012 to 2024. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House, leading world coverage about a lost-and-found space tomato on the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?" (ECW Press, 2022) is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams.