At 6:53 a.m. (Beijing Time) on Wednesday, a Long March-2C Y46 launch vehicle carrying the 5m S-SAR 02 satellite blasted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province.

The new remote sensing satellite will join the 5m S-SAR 01 satellite, which was launched into orbit in October last year. They will support disaster prevention, reduction, relief and environmental protection. They will serve specialists working in such fields as water conservation, agriculture, forestry, natural resources and earthquakes.