Without notice, China launched the Yaogan 18 satellite using its Long March 2C launch vehicle from the Taiyuan launch site in the Shanxi province of China at 0250 GMT on 28 October. Offically, China, via its main news services, has declared the satelite to have been designed to conduct scientific land survey and monitorcrop yields, with disaster monitoring as a secondary function. However, in reality, Yaogan satellites have usually been used for military purposes. As such, Western analysts believe the Yaogan 18 spacecraft to be either a military optical reconnaissance satellite or more likely a radar reconnaissance satellite.
China declares its newly launched Yaogan 18 satellite as a scientific observer but its military radar nature is suspected
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