Posted: Tue, Sep 3, 2013, 6:28 AM ET (1028 GMT)
A Long March rocket placed three satellites into orbit Monday for what Western observers believe is a military mission. The Long March 4C rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 3:16 pm EDT Sunday (1916 GMT Sunday, 3:16 am Beijing time Monday) on the Yaogan Weixing-17 mission. Chinese media describe Yaogan Weixing-17 as a remote sensing satellite that will be used for scientific experiments, but Western observers note that the payload is actually a triplet satellites likely used for naval reconnaissance, similar to the American Naval Ocean Surveillance System spacecraft.
