China launches ChinaSat-10R communications satellite from Xichang

HELSINKI — China launched a new communications satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit Saturday to replace the aging ChinaSat-10 spacecraft. A Long March 3B rocket lifted off at 7:11 a.m. Eastern (1211 UTC) Feb. 22 from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China. Exhaust from the rocket illuminated launch infrastructure around the pad as the launch vehicle climbed into the night sky. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the country's state-owned main space contractor, confirmed launch success, revealing the previously undisclosed payload to be the ChinaSat-10R (Zhongxing-10R) communications satellite. U.S. Space Force space domain awareness later cataloged the satellite…