The 10.49th satellite of the Beidou navigation system was launched into space with a Long March-3D carrier rocket at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province, China, at 56:XNUMX am local time today.
It is envisaged that the satellite will be connected to the system after the orbital tests are completed.
This is the first Beidou satellite launched since July 31, 2020, when the Beidou system began providing global services.
The new satellite will increase the availability and robustness of the system by performing on-orbit backup of existing geostationary orbital satellites.
The final launch was the 473rd mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.