Newly launched satellite to help protect environment, prevent disasters

China launched a Long March 2C carrier rocket on Thursday morning to send a satellite dedicated to environmental protection and disaster prevention and relief into orbit, according to the China National Space Administration.

The rocket blasted off at 6:53 am at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province and soon transported the Environmental Surveyor 2-05 satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit about 500 kilometers above the ground, the administration said in a news release.

Developed by the China Academy of Space Technology based on the CAST2000 satellite framework, the Environmental Surveyor 2-05 is tasked with using its synthetic aperture radar to obtain images and data to support disaster prevention and mitigation, environmental monitoring and emergency response efforts. Its users are the Ministry of Emergency Management and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

Data generated by the spacecraft will also be used to survey land and water resources, as well as in agricultural yield forecasts, forestry management and earthquake prevention and relief, the space administration said.

The Long March 2C rocket model is a product of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology and is mainly used to deploy satellites to low-Earth and sun-synchronous orbits. China has launched a host of satellites to serve environmental protection and disaster management purposes over the past several years.

The launch mission marked the 443rd flight of the Long March rocket family and the country's 44th space mission this year. More than 60 rocket launches have been planned for this year.