China successfully launched the Queqiao-2 relay satellite atop Long March-8 Y3 carrier rocket for China's lunar missions at 8:31 a.m. Beijing Time from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province on March 20.

The satellite separated from the carrier rocket 24 minutes after liftoff, entering the planned orbit for Earth-moon transfer. The solar panels and communication antennas were unfolded afterward, marking a successful launch mission. It will undergo mid-course corrections and near-moon braking to a capture orbit, adjust and finally settle into the lunar orbit. It is the world's second dedicated replay satellite beyond Earth's orbit after Queqiao.