China launched the latest in its secretive Shiyan satellite series this weekend.
A Long March 4C rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, northwest China, at 7:43 p.m. EDT on May 11 (2343 GMT, or 7:43 a.m. Beijing time on May 12). Chinese authorities revealed the mission payload would be Shiyan-23 once the launch was declared successful.
Chinese authorities have not provided images from the satellite. The only description of the spacecraft states that Shiyan-23 will be used for monitoring the space environment.
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This vague description is pretty standard for the secret Shiyan satellite series, whose name translates as “experiment.” The satellites are likely to perform a variety of tasks, operate in different orbits and test a range of new technologies.
China has launched at least 36 Shiyan satellites in the past two decades. At least one of them surprised observers by “performing unusual satellite maneuvers,” according to SpacePolicyOnline.
This mission was China’s 522nd flight Long march series of launch vehicles. The country aims to launch around 100 missions this year.
The Chang’e-6 lunar sample return mission, launched earlier this month, is is currently in orbit around the moon prepare for a landing attempt in the coming weeks. If successful, it will be the world’s first mission to return samples from the far side of the moon.
