China's space program has been unusually visible on the world stage recently, first with the Oct. 15 launch of their first astronaut into space and then again one week later when a joint Chinese and Brazilian research satellite was lofted into orbit.

Seen here, the Long March 4B rocket lifts off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province at 11:16 p.m. EDT (0316 GMT). Its main cargo arrived in orbit 13 minutes later and a second, smaller Chinese spacecraft was ejected 40 seconds after that.

According to China's official news service, the Resources No. 1 satellite is intended to "monitor Earth's land resources change, survey arable lands and grasslands, monitor natural and human disasters, offer information on aquatic farming and environmental pollution, and explore mineral resources."

The launch came six days after a Long March 2F rocket sent Yang Liwei into orbit from a separate base in the Gobi Desert in China's desert northwest, making history in the process as only the third nation after Russia and the United States capable of independent human spaceflight.

Long March boosters were notorious for failing during the mid-1990s when three launchers were lost, including one that flew off course and exploding, reportedly killing at least six people on the ground. Some reports put the death toll much higher. Officials say this Long March 4B shot was the 30th success in a row.

Credit: AP Photo/Xinhua