China launches rocket to send multirole satellite into orbit

China launches a Long March-2D rocket placing a new Earth-observing satellite into space on Sunday. [Photo by Wang Jiangbo/For chinadaily.com.cn]

China launched a Long March 2D carrier rocket on Sunday morning to send a multirole satellite into orbit, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

The State-owned space contractor said in a news release that the rocket blasted off at 8:54 am at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert and transported the Yunhai 1D satellite into its preset orbit.

The satellite is tasked with surveying atmospheric, marine and space environments, providing data to support disaster prevention and mitigation efforts, and carrying out scientific experiments, it noted.

The Long March 2D rocket is propelled by liquid propellants and has a liftoff thrust of 300 metric tons. It is capable of sending spacecraft with a combined weight of 1.3 ton to a sun-synchronous orbit with an altitude of 700 kilometers.

Both of the satellite and rocket were designed and built by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology.

The mission was China's 47th rocket launch this year and the 491st flight of the Long March rocket family, the nation's main launch vehicle fleet.