China launches satellites to monitor atmospheric, space environments

China launched a Long March 2D carrier rocket to send a group of multirole satellites into orbit on Thursday afternoon, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

The State-owned space contractor said in a news release that the rocket blasted off at 1:27 pm at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China and transported the second batch of Yunhai 2-series satellites into their preset orbit.

Developed by the China Academy of Space Technology, the satellites are tasked with surveying atmospheric factors, monitoring the space environment, providing data to support disaster prevention and mitigation efforts, and carrying out scientific experiments, it said.

Long March 2D model, designed and built by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, is propelled by liquid propellants and has a liftoff thrust of 300 metric tons. It is capable of sending a 1.3-ton spacecraft to a typical sun-synchronous orbit with an altitude of 700 kilometers.

The mission was China's 13th rocket launch this year and the 513th flight of the Long March rocket family, the nation's main launch vehicle fleet.