The spacecraft will collect images and other data that will be used for planning, surveying, crop yield assessment and disaster monitoring. The spacecraft also carries a "space-science experiment," according to Xinhua.

The launch is the first for China since the June 25 launch of the FY-2B weather satellite from the Xichang launch site, and just the third in all of 2000. The launch was also the third ever for the Long March 4B, an upgraded version of the three-stage Long March 4A capable of placing up to 3,300 pounds (1,500 kilograms) in geosynchronous transfer orbit or 4,840 pounds (2,200 kilograms) into a sun-synchronous orbit.

Most interest in the Chinese space program has focused on the nation's plans to place a human into orbit. Last November the country launched Shenzhou, a prototype of a planned piloted spacecraft, on a Long March 2F at a new launch site in Jiuquan in northern China. That spacecraft spent a day in orbit before reentering and landing in Chinese territory.

Chinese officials have said for some time they plan to launch a human into orbit in the near future. While there was speculation China would attempt such a launch last year, to mark the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, such a launch is now expected for no sooner than next year, likely after at least one more pilotless test flight later this year.