XICHANG — China on Thursday launched two new satellites of the BeiDou-3 Navigation Satellite System (BDS-3) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China's Sichuan province.

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The two satellites, the 59th and 60th satellites of the BeiDou system, were launched at 9:14 am (Beijing Time) by a Long March-3B carrier rocket and the Yuanzheng-1 (Expedition-1) upper stage attached to the carrier rocket.

The launch was the 535th mission for the Long March series carrier rockets.