China successfully launched the Ziyuan III satellite yesterday from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in North China's Shanxi Province.
The civilian satellite carrying high-resolution remote-sensing, equipment was launched at 11:17 am aboard a Long March 4B rocket.
The satellite, weighing 2,650 kilograms, entered an orbit of 500 kilometers above the Earth about 12 minutes after it was launched. It has a designed life expectancy of five years.
The satellite will aid the country's land-resources surveys, natural-disaster prevention, agriculture development, water-resources management, and urban planning.
The rocket also carried a satellite from Luxemburg, according to the center.
Xinhua