China Successfully Launches Advanced Earth Observation Satellite

China on Friday sent a new Earth observation satellite into space from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province. The Gaofen-11 05 satellite was launched at 11:03 a.m. (Beijing Time) by a Long March-4B carrier rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported. It entered the planned orbit successfully, the news agency added.

The satellite will be used in a variety of fields including land surveys, urban planning, road network design, and crop yield estimation. It will also help in land ownership verification and even aid in disaster prevention and mitigation.

The new satellite will also provide information support for the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative and the modernisation of national defence, China Global Television Network (CGTN) reported. The launch marked the 528th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.

The Gaofen satellite series is part of China's high-resolution Earth imaging satellites launched as part of the China High-resolution Earth Observation System (CHEOS) programme.