China says successfully launched satellite
At 3:03pm Beijing time on January 9, 2024, China successfully launched Einstein Probe satellite, CCTV reported
BEIJING: China successfully launched a satellite into space on Tuesday, state broadcaster CCTV said.
“At 3:03 pm Beijing time (0703 GMT) on January 9, 2024, China successfully launched the Einstein Probe satellite,” CCTV reported.
The launch triggered concern in Taiwan, where authorities issued emergency phone notifications warning the public to “please beware of your safety”. Taiwan´s foreign minister said the alert was issued because of possible “debris”.
The Einstein Probe set off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southwestern Sichuan province, around 2,000=-kms from Taiwan´s capital Taipei, state media said.
CCTV said it was launched “using the Long March-2C carrier rocket... and the satellite entered its designated orbit”.
The satellite will “observe mysterious transient phenomena in the universe comparable to the flickering of fireworks”, state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.
It will aim to unveil “the violent and little-known aspects of the cosmos”, Xinhua added.
Footage released by CCTV showed the white rocket soaring into the air in a plume of white smoke before separating in orbit.
Scientist Yuan Weimin, who led the project, was quoted by state media as describing it as the “most beautiful satellite I´ve ever seen”.
