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On May 16, China launched a BeiDou satellite to replenish the constellation, reported Space News. This brings the constellation total to 56 satellites.
This backup satellite was aboard a Long March 3B rocket, which launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China at 10:49 p.m. Eastern Time. The satellite aims to improve BeiDou’s stability, positioning precision and overall health.
In addition to launching the BeiDou satellite, China also launched satellites to study Earth and synthetic aperture radar test satellites (SAR) for disaster prevention.
On May 21, the Macau Science Satellite 1A and 1B launched on a Long March 2C rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 4 a.m. Eastern Time. This satellite was designed to study the Earth’s magnetic field.
Also, on May 21, aboard the same rocket was the Luojia-2 (01), a Ka-band synthetic aperture radar test satellite for Wuhan University. The Luojia-2 (01) will test signal enhancement and integration of remote sensing imaging, meteorological detection and more.
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation has planned more than 60 launches this year and has already completed 20 thus far.