BEIJING — A Long March 2D rocket successfully launched a Chinese scientific research satellite from the Jiuquan base in the country’s northwest on June 15, Xinhua news agency says. The satellite, Shijian 12, “was designed for carrying out scientific and technological experiments,” Xinhua says, adding that its equipment includes a space environment probe. There were no details as to the spacecraft’s precise function. The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, part of the China Aerospace Science & Technology Corp., developed the satellite.

Singapore Airlines deployed more passenger and cargo capacity in May than a year earlier, the first such annual expansion since September 2008. Additional frequencies from Singapore to New York, Houston, Perth, Beijing, Shanghai, Mumbai and Sri Lanka generated the extra capacity, says Singapore Airlines, noting the improved economic environment. It also launched a Singapore-Munich-Manchester flight in March.

The Vietnam government will build an airport for turboprop aircraft at Tan Uyen in Lai Chau, a rugged northwestern province with poor ground communications. The $228 million airport will go into service in 2012 with a runway that is 2,000 meters long (6,560 ft.) and 30 meters wide. The facility will be used at first as a “local service airport” and, from 2030, as an internal civil airport, says the Vietnam News Agency. The terminal will initially handle up to 40,000 passengers a year and will be upgraded to 110,000 passengers a year by 2030.