MOSCOW (Sputnik) – China’s Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation announced in November 2014 it was planning to launch around 120 applied satellites to update its national space infrastructure. These are planned to include 70 remote sensing, 30 navigation and 20 communication satellites.
"The ‘ChinaSat 1C’ satellite was launched at 12:46 a.m. [16:46 GMT] and carried by the Long March-3B carrier rocket," the Xinhua news service said.
The outlet said the launch from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center was the carrier rocket’s 220th mission.
"[ChinaSat 1C] will provide high-quality voice, data and radio and TV transmission services," it added.
The China National Space Administration has said it planned to start operating an independent permanent space station in 2020.
