China launches Long March 6A rocket to deploy Yaogan 50C satellite

China launched a Long March 6A carrier rocket on Friday afternoon to deploy a multifunctional remote-sensing satellite into orbit, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

The State-owned conglomerate said in a news release that the rocket blasted off at 6:15 pm from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China's Shanxi province and transported the Yaogan 50C satellite into its preset orbit.

The satellite will obtain data to support land resource surveys, agricultural yield forecasts, and disaster prevention and mitigation, according to the release.

The Yaogan 50A and 50B satellites were launched in January and March, respectively.

The Yaogan, or Remote-Sensing, series satellites are China's largest family of Earth-observation satellites and carry different payloads, including radar and optical sensors. The data and images they obtain have been widely used by government agencies, public service sectors and businesses.

The Long March 6A rocket consists of a 50-meter liquid-propellant core booster and four solid-fuel side boosters. It has a liftoff weight of 530 metric tons and is designed to transport satellites into various types of orbit, including sun-synchronous, low-Earth and intermediate circular orbits.