GLOBALink | China launches nine Geely-01 satellites

China on Thursday launched a Long March-2C carrier rocket to place a group of nine commercial satellites in space. The Geely-01 constellation consisting of nine satellites were lifted at 12:00 p.m. (Beijing Time) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province and entered the preset orbit. Owned by GeeSpace, a subsidiary of Geely Technology Group, the satellite constellation will be mainly used to research and validate technologies, such as travel services of intelligent connected vehicles, and vehicle/mobile phone and satellite interaction. It will also provide data support for marine environmental protection. This was the 422nd flight mission of the Long March rocket series. Produced by Xinhua Global Service

Switzerland Plans To Buy Dozens Of US F-35 Fighter Jets

Switzerland Plans To Buy Dozens Of US F-35 Fighter Jets

Handout photo dated September 13, 2013 of the first F-35A Lightning II to land at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, arrives. The multirole, fifth-generation fighter arrived from the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis AFB, NV, USA. Switzerland has chosen Lockheed Martin's F-35A Lightning II as its next-generation fighter jet, the government said on Wednesday, angering opponents who have pledged a new referendum to overturn what they dubbed an unnecessary "Ferrari" option. The $ 5.5 billion deal adds a 15th nation to the world's largest weapons project -- a family of interconnected, single-engine jets to be used by the United States and its allies and partners. It came alongside a $ 2.1 billion agreement to buy the Patriot surface-to-air missile system from US group Raytheon, with European competitors losing out on both deals. U.S. Air Force photo/Alex R. Lloyd via ABACAPRESS.COM