China launches new satellite group for commercial constellation

China sent a new satellite group into space on Saturday from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province.

The satellite group was launched at 17:30 Beijing Time (09:30 GMT) aboard a modified Long March-6 carrier rocket and entered its preset orbit successfully. It will form part of the Spacesail Constellation, a mega commercial Chinese low-orbit satellite network.

This launch marked the 655th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series, according to the launch center.

The Ministry of Water Resources on Saturday activated a Level-IV emergency response for flood control in northeast China’s Liaoning and Jilin provinces, after recent heavy rains raised the risk of flooding.

From Saturday through Monday, cumulative precipitation in northern and western Liaoning, as well as most of Jilin, is expected to reach 40 to 60 millimeters, with some areas possibly exceeding 100 millimeters, according to the ministry.

Several rivers, including the middle reaches of the Hunhe and Suzi rivers in Liaoning, and the Huifa, Xiaogushan, and Aolong rivers in Jilin, are forecast to rise above flood warning levels.

In response, the ministry dispatched two working groups to the affected areas on Saturday to guide local flood prevention efforts.

Around 09:05 on Saturday, heavy rain and upstream inflows pushed the water level at the Gongnong Bridge hydrological station on the Hunhe River in Liaoning, to 37.40 meters, with a flow rate of 1,980 cubic meters per second, and levels continued to rise.

In response, the Liaoning Provincial River and Reservoir Management Service Center issued a blue flood warning, urging units along the river and the public to step up prevention measures. It marked the first flood warning issued in Liaoning this year.