China sends multirole satellite into orbit

A Long March 6A carrier rocket blasts off at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province to transport the Yunhai 3B satellite into its preset orbit on March 27, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

China launched a Long March 6A carrier rocket to send a multirole satellite into orbit on Wednesday morning, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

The State-owned space contractor said in a news release that the rocket blasted off at 6:51 am at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province and transported the Yunhai 3B satellite into its preset orbit.

The satellite is tasked with surveying atmospheric, marine and space environments, providing data to support disaster prevention and mitigation efforts, and carrying out scientific experiments, it said.

A Long March 6A carrier rocket blasts off at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province to transport the Yunhai 3B satellite into its preset orbit on March 27, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

Both of the satellite and rocket were designed and built by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, a CASC subsidiary.

By now, China has deployed a number of Yunhai-series multifunctional satellites in space via several launches.

The medium-lift Long March 6A consists of a 50-meter, liquid-propelled core booster and four solid-fuel side boosters. The core booster has a diameter of 3.35 meters and is propelled by two 120-ton-thrust engines burning liquid oxygen and kerosene.

A Long March 6A carrier rocket blasts off at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province to transport the Yunhai 3B satellite into its preset orbit on March 27, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

With a liftoff weight of 530 metric tons, the rocket is mainly tasked with transporting satellites to multiple types of orbit, including sun-synchronous, low-Earth and intermediate circular orbit.

The launch mission marked the country's 14th space missions this year and the 514th flight of the Long March rocket family, the nation's major space launch vehicle fleet. About 100 rocket launches have been scheduled in 2024.