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Official | China successfully launches 50th and 51st Beidou navigation satellites
On November 23, 2019 at 08:55, China successfully launched the 50th and 51st Beidou navigation satellites using the Long March 3B carrier rocket (along with the supporting Yuanzheng 1 upper stage) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in a "one rocket, two satellites" manner.
Both satellites belong to the category of medium Earth orbit satellites and are the networking satellites of the BeiDou-3 system currently under construction in China. After more than 3 hours of flight, the satellite successfully entered its designated orbit and will undergo in orbit testing to provide timely network access and services.
The 50th and 51st Beidou navigation satellites were successfully launched (photographed by Guo Wenbin)
The Beidou navigation satellite and supporting carrier rocket (and the upper stage of supporting Expedition 1) launched this time were respectively developed by the Institute of Micro Satellite Innovation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Launch Vehicle Technology of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. This is the 319th flight of the Long March series carrier rocket.
Source: China Beidou Satellite Navigation System