Beijing, Sep 27 (Agency) China successfully launched three Shiyan type research satellites with the Long March-6 carrier rocket on Tuesday morning, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) said. The launch of the Shiyan-16A, Shiyan-16B and Shiyan-17 satellites took place at 7:50 a.m. local time (23:50 GMT Monday) from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi Province in northern China. The satellite group is intended for geological research, prevention and mitigation of natural disasters, the data will also be used in urban planning.
The current mission was the 10th for the Long March-6 Changzheng-6 carrier rocket and the 440th launch for the Long March type carrier rockets. In 2021, China set a new national record for the number of space launches per year – 55. The previous record of 39 launches was recorded in 2018 and repeated in 2020. Meanwhile, the absolute record holder for the number of space launches per year is the Soviet Union with 108 launches in 1982; the United States is in second place with 77 launches in 1966.