China launched a new Long March-8 rocket on Sunday, February 27 with the aim of placing 22 satellites in space.
The rocket was launched at 11.06am from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch site in Hainan Province, and is the first launch of China’s Long March-6A, a rocket powered by both a solid and liquid engine.
The satellites will be used for remote sensing, marine environment sensing, forest fire prevention and disaster mitigation.
The flight set a new record for the most spacecraft launched by a single rocket.
In more space news, China announced that it will make six manned space flights in 2022 to complete the building of the country’s space station. Sunday’s launch was the first of said six.
In 2021, China carried out the most space launches in the world, with a total of 55. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) conducted 48 of these launches, with a total of 103 spacecraft making an expedition.
Last year saw 146 space launches globally, with 1,846 spacecraft, the largest number since 1957.
[Cover image via Xinhua]
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