The satellite, named Yaogan 33D, was carried by a Long March 4C carrier rocket that took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert in the north of the country.

Such satellites are intended to observe, inspect and measure objects on land or at sea, as well as to monitor the weather.

According to the company, Yaogan 33D’s specific goals include obtaining data for scientific research, mapping land and marine resources, estimating agricultural yields, and disaster prevention and mitigation.

According to Xinhua news agency, the Yaogan family constitutes the largest fleet of remote sensing spacecraft in China and its data is widely used by governments, the utility sector and businesses.

In the case of the Long March 4C, it is capable of carrying satellites with a combined weight of three tons and placing them in a sun-synchronous orbit 700 kilometers above the Earth.

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