BEIJING, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) — The following is a summary of published science and technology news in China.

LONG MARCH-2C ROCKET

The first Long March-2C rocket was launched 40 years ago over a desert in northwest China, sending a retrievable satellite into orbit. The model has since become a backbone launch vehicle for the country’s interplanetary expeditions.

Following several upgrades, the Long March-2C is currently 43 meters long, and its carrying capacity to low Earth orbit has increased from 1,800 kg to 2,500 kg. It is China’s longest-serving carrier rocket and is on the brink of a salvo of new launches.

YOUTH POPULAR-SCIENCE ACTIVITY

A Chinese popular-science activity themed “Growing Plants Together with Astronauts” was launched on Friday.

At the online and offline launch ceremony, students from more than 30 schools in Beijing, Shanghai, Yunnan and other regions watched a video, where Shenzhou-14 astronaut Chen Dong shared conducting plant culture experiments in the space station.

SCI-TECH DOCUMENTARY

Season 2 of a TV series documentary on China’s achievements in cutting-edge science and technology and the scientists and engineers behind them started filming on Friday.

The China Center for International Communication Development under the China International Publishing Group, the film’s co-producer, announced at the launch event the kickstart of the three-episode documentary that will explore China’s science and technology advances from the perspectives of life, our planet, and civilization.