Yaogan IX reconnaissance satellite launched

As noted, "Yaogan VIII" was launched on December 14, 2009 (here) and its predecessor, "Yaogan VII," was launched on December 9, 2009.

Three reconnaissance satellite launches in three months, they must be in the the hunt for Dan Brown's lost symbol

China launches new remote-sensing satellite
English.news.cn 2010-03-05 16:03:39
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-03/05/c_13198646.htm

A Long March 4C carrier rocket carrying a remote-sensing satellite, "Yaogan IX", blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province,March 5, 2010. (Xinhua/Xu Haihan)

JIUQUAN, Gansu Province, March 5 (Xinhua) -- China has successfully put into orbit another remote-sensing satellite, "Yaogan IX" at 12:55 p.m.(Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gansu Province, according to a statement from the center Friday.

The satellite was sent into space aboard a Long March 4C carrier rocket and would be used to conduct scientific experiment, carry out surveys on land resources, forecast grain output and help with natural disaster-reduction and prevention endeavor, it said.

Its predecessor, "Yaogan VIII," was launched from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi Province last December.

Military reconnaissance satellite launched by China
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: March 5, 2010
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1003/05longmarch/

China successfully launched another Earth observation satellite from the Jiuquan space base Friday, according to state-run media outlets.

The Yaogan 9 spacecraft blasted off from Jiuquan on a Long March 4C rocket at 0455 GMT (11:55 p.m. EST Thursday), or 12:55 p.m. local time. The three-stage rocket successfully delivered the secret payload to orbit, the state-owned Xinhua news agency reported.

The Jiuquan launch site is located in the Gobi desert near the border between China's Gansu and Inner Mongolia provinces. Jiuquan has hosted the launches of all three Chinese human spaceflights to date.

Yaogan 9 is the newest member of a series of satellites believed to harbor optical and radar military reconnaissance capabilities.

The satellite "would be used to conduct scientific experiment[s], carry out surveys on land resources, forecast grain output and help with natural disaster-reduction and prevention endeavor[s]," state media reports said.

But most experts believe the Yaogan series includes two variants with high-resolution electro-optical cameras and cloud-piercing radars designed to see targets through inclement weather or darkness.

In the past, optical Yaogan satellites launched from Jiuquan and radar-equipped spacecraft were shot into orbit from the Taiyuan space center in northern China's Shanxi province.

Before Friday's mission, analysts believed China had orbited three electro-optical Yaogan satellites and five radar payloads.

Previous Yaogan launches from Jiuquan used the less powerful Long March 2D booster. The Long March 4C launched Friday includes a restartable third stage to increase payload performance. Chinese officials did not address the change in rocket, but the more powerful launcher could indicate the mission carried an upgraded Yaogan satellite.

Official Chinese media did not announce the launch until Thursday, a typical communications procedure for closely-guarded military space missions.

Friday's launch was the second orbital flight of Chinese rockets this year, and it marked the ninth space launch to reach orbit worldwide so far in 2010.