China launches weather satellite after airspace closure issue with Taiwan

China has launched a new meteorological satellite to boost rainfall monitoring. A Long March 4B rocket lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 9:36 p.m. EDT on Saturday (April 15; 0136 GMT, or 9:36 a.m. Beijing time on April 16). Insulation tiles fell away from the rocket as it climbed into clear skies above the spaceport in the Gobi Desert. The satellite was later cataloged by U.S. Space Force domain tracking in a near-circular orbit with an altitude of roughly 255 miles (410 kilometers) and inclined by 50 degrees. Related: The latest news about China’s space program A Chinese…