China on Tuesday successfully launched a satellite, state broadcaster CCTV said.
“At 3:03 pm Beijing time on January 9, 2024, China successfully launched the Einstein Probe satellite,” CCTV reported.
The launch triggered immediate concern in Taiwan, where authorities issued emergency phone alerts, warning the public to “please beware of your safety”.
The Einstein Probe set off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southwestern Sichuan province, around 2,000 kilometres (1,243 miles) away from Taiwan’s capital Taipei.
CCTV said it was launched “using the Long March-2C carrier rocket… and the satellite entered its designated orbit”.
The satellite will “observe mysterious transient phenomena in the universe comparable to the flickering of fireworks, with the aim of unveiling the violent and little-known aspects of the cosmos”, state-run news agency Xinhua reported Tuesday.
