Posted: Sat, Oct 19, 2019, 6:35 PM ET (2235 GMT)
China launched a secretive satellite Thursday. A Long March 3B lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 11:21 am EDT (1521 GMT) and placed the Tongxin Jishu Shiyan Weixing (TJSW) 4 satellite into orbit. Chinese media described TJSW-4 as an experimental communications satellite, but many Western observers speculate it has a military mission of some kind, ranging from missile early warning to signals intelligence.

Related Links:

•  NASASpaceFlight.com article
•  Spaceflight Now article
•  Xinhua article