New solid-fuel carrier rocket to be ready by 2018

Sea-based launch service will be first of its kind on global market

China is developing a carrier rocket that can be launched from ships at sea, according to a rocket scientist.

Tang Yagang, deputy director of carrier rocket development at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology in Beijing, told reporters on Thursday that the rocket is being developed based on the academy's existing solid-fuel rocket and will be capable of sending a 500-kilogram satellite to a sun-synchronous orbit about 500 kilometers above Earth.