Launching from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, Shanxi, China, at 0301 GMT on 24 August, a Long March 2D (CZ-2D) rocket has placed an Earth Observation satellite into LEO. The satellite is identified as Beijing 3B and is a follow-on unit to Beijing 3A – launched in June 2021. Beijing 3B is owned and operated by 21st Century Space Technology Application Co., Ltd. (21AT). These two units provide improved commercial satellite imagery for the company, over the older DMC3 satellites – built by SSTL of the UK – which it currently utilises.
