China’s maiden flight of the Long March 6. Photo: Xinhua

[Via Satellite 09-21-2015] China’s Xinhua News Agency has reported the successful launch of the Long March 6 rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China’s Shanxi Province. The new carrier rocket, designed mainly for the launch of micro-satellites, orbited 20-such spacecraft during the mission. Xinhua said the satellites will be used for space tests.

The launch tested the feasibility and accuracy of the rocket’s design, along with other new technologies. The Long March 6 uses liquid oxygen and kerosene as propellants, and is the country’s first carrier rocket to use fuel free of pollutants.