China’s Long March 2F Y-15 rocket, carrying the Shenzhou-15 spacecraft with three taikonauts aboard, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Tuesday. Photo: Wang Jiangbo China opened its 2026 launch schedule on January 13 with two orbital missions. A Long March 6A rocket lifted off from Taiyuan carrying the Yaogan-50 (01) satellite into a highly retrograde orbit with a 142-degree inclination. Such orbits sacrifice launch efficiency but provide faster ground-track coverage and repeated access to mid-latitude regions. While Chinese authorities described the satellite’s purpose in civilian terms such as land surveys, crop estimation, and disaster monitoring, Yaogan spacecraft are widely understood to support military reconnaissance, including radar, optical imaging, and signals intelligence. The highly retrograde orbit is notable because it…
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