China placed the Yaogan-50 03 remote sensing satellite into orbit on the evening of Oct. 23 aboard a modified Long March 6 rocket. Earlier that day, the navy's 48th escort task group returned to Qingdao after completing its Gulf of Aden mission.
According to Huanqiu, China launched the Yaogan-50 03 satellite at 6:15 p.m. Beijing time on Oct. 23 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province on a Long March 6 modified carrier rocket. The satellite entered its planned orbit and the launch was declared a success.
광고 문의 · 300×250Huanqiu said the satellite will mainly be used for land surveys, crop yield estimation and disaster prevention and mitigation. The mission was the 672nd flight of the Long March rocket series. The satellite's orbital altitude and detailed specifications were not disclosed.
48th escort group home after more than a year
Huanqiu also reported that the navy's 48th escort task group completed its Gulf of Aden escort mission and returned to a naval port in Qingdao, Shandong province, on the morning of Oct. 23. The group consists of three ships: the guided-missile destroyer Tangshan, the guided-missile frigate Daqing and the comprehensive supply ship Taihu.
According to the U.S. trade publication Maritime Executive, the group left Qingdao on Oct. 11 last year and took over duties in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, operating from China's overseas support base in Djibouti. Its first mission was reportedly to escort a Panama-flagged bulk carrier from Lianyungang in Jiangsu province to Djibouti.
The homecoming reports did not state the exact length of the deployment or the number of ships escorted. The Chinese navy has sent escort task groups to waters off Somalia and the Gulf of Aden since late 2008 to protect merchant shipping.
