The World - News from July 4, 1988

China announced it has developed a new, more powerful rocket in its successful Long March series and said it soon will launch a meteorological satellite into space. The new Long March 4 has the capability of putting a 2.5-ton payload into orbit, the official New China News Agency said. Aeronautics officials hope the new rocket will help attract more foreign customers for China’s nearly three-year-old satellite launching service, which, despite cut-rate prices, has only one customer--Sweden Space Co.--under contract. China has launched 22 of its own satellites in the past 18 years.