Long March-3B launches two BeiDou-3 MEO backup satellites

A Long March-3B launch vehicle, with a Yuanzheng-1 (Expedition-1) upper stage, launched two backup BeiDou-3 navigation satellites from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan Province, southwest China, on 26 December 2023, at 03:26 UTC (11:26 local time). The two medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites (BeiDou-3 MEO-25 and MEO-26) are the 57th and 58th of the BeiDou family and the second and the third to act as a backup satellites for China’s BeiDou-3 Navigation Satellite System (BDS-3). Credit: China Central Television (CCTV)/China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)