China Launches Satellite Critical for Mission to Moon’s Far Side

(Bloomberg) — China launched a lunar satellite designed to play a critical role in its competition with the U.S. to be the leader in exploration of the moon.

The Queqiao-2 relay satellite went into orbit aboard a Long March-8 rocket at 8:31 a.m. Beijing time from the Wenchang launch site in South China’s Hainan province, according to the China National Space Administration.