New communication technology test satellite launched

China launched a Long March 5 carrier rocket on Thursday afternoon to deploy an experimental satellite into space, according to the State-owned conglomerate China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

The company said in a news release that the rocket blasted off at 3:30 pm from a coastal service tower in the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province and soon placed the satellite, named Communication Technology Demonstrator 25, in its preset orbit.

The satellite was built by the China Academy of Space Technology, a CASC subsidiary, and is tasked with verifying multi-band, high-speed satellite communication technologies, according to the company.

Developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, another CASC subsidiary, the Long March 5 is the biggest and most powerful operating rocket in China. With a liftoff weight of 877 metric tons, the model is capable of ferrying spacecraft weighing up to 25 tons — the combined weight of 16 mid-size car — to a low-Earth orbit, or 14 tons to a geosynchronous transfer orbit. It also can transport an eight-ton probe to the Earth-moon transfer orbit or a five-ton probe to the Earth-Mars transfer orbit.

The mission was China’s 41st rocket launch this year and the 650th flight of the Long March rocket family, the nation’s main launch vehicle fleet.