Posted: Sat, Apr 3, 2021, 10:48 AM ET (1448 GMT)
China launched an Earth observation satellite Tuesday. A Long March 4C rocket launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 6:45 pm EDT (2245 GMT) and placed the Gaofen-12 (02) satellite into sun-synchronous orbit. The satellite is nominally part of the civilian China High-resolution Earth Observation System, for use in land surveys, urban planning, road network design and crop yield estimation, as well as disaster relief. The satellite, like some others in the Gaofen series, may also be used for national security applications.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  Xinhua article