For one thing the one air-space closure zone seems to indicate a 63 deg. LEO/NOSS-type/Molniya orbit, also that YW-6 tracking ship is btw Java & W Australia right now, but the locations doesn’t quite match w/ the YG-31 series launches this year.
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It “should” be a LM-4C given tracking ship involvement, but the location is weird (positioning suggesting ~70 deg. orbit) that 2C/2D/4B can’t be ruled out. No known S/C can be paired to this. So uhh w/ the zones for CSS Tianhe launch still 404 it’ll remain a mystery for now.
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...and yup the Chinese are going back into stealth mode immediately tomorrow:https://twitter.com/Nextlaunch/status/1387631224815034371?s=19 …
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And...launch success confirmed. It was indeed a Long March 4C launching at 07:27 UTC w/ a certain "Yaogan 34", described as an optical remote-sensing satellite built by SAST. http://t.cn/A6cnB5ha
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This launch puts the obscure (due to its payload usually classified or plain civil domestic EO sats) Long March 4 series at 6 out of 6 in 2021 so far, just 1 short of Soyuz and firmly in 3rd place for usage frequency. Official reports has it flying "around 14 times" this year.pic.twitter.com/bBuuXGrlzo
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This is also the first LM-4 series launch from Jiuquan using the larger 4 m diameter payload fairing. Previously such launches were all from Taiyuan.pic.twitter.com/KJ80aqzJ1t
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Regarding the destination of the satellite, there were speculations of it making a dogleg to SSO, however there's an observation of what looks like rocket stage venting in New South Wales Australia ~30 min later which fits w/ this one & in ~60 deg. LEO. http://satobs.org/seesat/Apr-2021/0169.html …
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Tracking data from
@18SPCS: 2021-037A/48340: 1083 x 1105 km x 63.38° (S/C) 2021-037B/48341: 983 x 1091 km x 63.45° (rocket) Interesting orbit for an optical EO sat, and even more interestingly YG-34's co-orbital w/ the YG-31-01 triplet "Chinese NOSS" satellites! I wonder...
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:38th UP!
:Friday
:0719-0743 UTC / 3:19-3:43 EDT / 16:19-16:43 JST
:Long March 
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:LEO
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