China's
newest Earth-watching satellite successfully launched into space early Monday
to survey the country's land resources and aid in disaster prevention, state
media reported.
Just weeks
after launching
its first lunar orbiter Chang'e-1 toward the moon, China sent the Yaogan 3
remote-sensing satellite into orbit atop a Long March-4C rocket, according to
the country's state-run Xinhua News Agency.
The rocket
launched into space from the Taiyun Satellite Launch Center in the Shanxi
Province at 6:48 a.m. local Beijing Time, Xinhua reported. The 5,952-pound
(2,700-kilogram) satellite will be used to scan available land resources,
estimate crop yields and assist in disaster management, the news agency added.
Monday's
successful launch marked China's second space shot in less than three weeks
following the Oct. 24 liftoff of its Chang'e
lunar orbiter. The moon probe subsequently reached its final lunar orbit
last week and is expected to spend about one year observing the lunar surface.
China is
the third nation, after Russia and the U.S., to independently build and launch
astronaut-carrying spacecraft into Earth orbit. Last month, Chinese space
officials formally announced plans to develop the Long March 5 family of
rockets, consisting of larger boosters capable of launching heavier payloads
into orbit, to lift off from a new spaceport to be built on the country's
Hainan Island.
According
to state news reports, the first Long March 5 rocket will debut until 2013,
though China is preparing for its third manned spaceflight. The three-astronaut
mission is slated
to launch in 2008 and may include China's first spacewalk.
China
launched its first astronaut in 2003 aboard the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft. The
nation's second manned flight, Shenzhou 6, carried two astronauts when it launched
in 2005.
advertisement
