China's space observation ship, Yuanwang-3 on Thursday set sail for its first voyage this year from a port in east China's Jiangsu Province. The vessel will carry out its 100th maritime mission during this voyage.

Yuanwang-3 has become the first ship of China's Yuanwang fleet to embrace its 100th mission.

Commissioned on May 18, 1995, Yuanwang-3 is a second-generation Chinese space tracking ship for maritime measurement and control and communication missions for satellites, spacecraft, and space stations.

It has undertaken more than 90 maritime tracking and monitoring tasks for spacecraft, including the Shenzhou spaceships, Chang'e lunar probes, and BeiDou satellites.