China launches satellite Queqiao-2 for upcoming lunar missions

China on Wednesday launched a satellite that will act as a communications bridge between ground operations on Earth and robotic missions on the far side of the moon as part of the country's lunar exploration programme, state media reported.

A Long March 8 rocket carrying the 1.2-metric ton Queqiao-2, named after a bridge made up of magpies in a Chinese myth, and two miniature satellites, Tiandu-1 and 2, blasted off from the southern island province of Hainan, state media reported.