China launches navigation satellite
Posted: Sun, May 25, 2003, 10:18 AM ET (1418 GMT) A Long March booster successfully launched a Chinese navigation satellite early Sunday, Chinese officials announced. The Long March 3A booster lifted off from the Xichang launch center at 12:34 am Beijing time Sunday (12:34 pm EDT, 1634 GMT Saturday) and its payload, a Beidou satellite, separated from the booster 20 minutes later. The satellite will join two other Beidou (Chinese for "Big Dipper") satellites launched into geosynchronous orbit in 2000 to create a rudimentary satellite navigation system. The launch is the first of the year for China, and was not previously announced.
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