China launched nine satellites on Tuesday with a Long March 11 solid-propellant carrier rocket that blasted off from a ship in the Yellow Sea, achieving the country's first commercial launch at sea.

The Long March 11-HY2－the 10th in the Long March 11 family－roared to life at 9:23 am from the Debo 3, a self-propelled deck barge that was modified for the mission, and soon thrust into the sky.

After flying about 13 minutes, the rocket deployed nine Jilin 1 high-resolution Earth-observation satellites－three to take video footage and six to take photos－into a sun-synchronous orbit 535 kilometers above the ground.

Developed by Changguang Satellite Technology in Changchun, Jilin province, these satellites, each weighing about 42 kilograms, are tasked with providing remote-sensing products to users in industries such as agriculture, forestry, land resources and environmental protection.

Changguang Satellite Technology Co Ltd (CGSTL), founded on Dec 1, 2014, was the first commercial remote sensing satellite company in China.

Jilin-1 satellite constellation is the core project under construction by CGSTL. It is composed of 138 high performance optical remote sensing satellites covering high resolution, large width, video and multi-spectrum.

Jilin-1 constellation can visit any place in the world five to seven times a day, with the ability to update a global map once a year and a national map four times a year. Jilin-1 satellite constellation can provide high-quality remote sensing information and product services for agricultural and forestry production, environmental monitoring, smart city, geographical mapping, land planning and other fields.