China Announces Successful First Space Launch of 2023

The Chinese Academy of Sciences announced that the first launch of 2023 was successful. The institution stated in its announcement that at 6:00 local time (1:00 Moscow time), the Long March 7A transport rocket was launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Site, carrying the Shijian-23 scientific research satellite, which was subsequently placed into its designated orbit. According to the institution's statement, the Shijian-23 satellite is intended for scientific experiments and technical verification. This launch also marks the 459th mission of the Long March transport rockets.