China successfully launches Tianhui-4 satellite

A Long March-2D carrier rocket carrying the Tianhui-4 satellite blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Dec. 29, 2021. China on Wednesday successfully sent the Tianhui-4 satellite into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The satellite was launched at 7:13 p.m. (Beijing Time) and has entered its planned orbit. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

JIUQUAN, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- China successfully sent its Tianhui-4 satellite into space on Wednesday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwest of the country.

The satellite was launched by a Long March-2D carrier rocket at 7:13 p.m. (Beijing Time) and has entered its planned orbit.

The launch marked the 404th flight mission of the Long March series of carrier rockets. It was also the 22nd mission carried out by the launch center this year, setting the country's new record for the number of space launches by a single site within a year.

Two manned spaceships, Shenzhou-12 and Shenzhou-13, were launched this year from the launch center, which conducted the search and retrieval mission of the manned spacecraft for the first time, said Zheng Yonghuang, the center's chief engineer.

In 2022, the launch center will carry out several missions, including two spacecraft launches, two spacecraft retrieval missions and more than 20 satellite launches.