China has launched its first X-ray space telescope to study black holes, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts. It is a significant step in the country’s
race to develop a space program that can rival that of the US or
Russia.
A Long March-4B rocket carried the 2.5-tonne telescope into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert
Once
in orbit, the telescope will be used to observe high-energy entities
like black holes, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts in order to understand
more about their energy sources.
