China launched two new groups of remote sensing satellites from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Thursday.

The satellites of the Yaogan-53 and Yaogan-56 groups were launched at 5:00 p.m. (Beijing Time) aboard a Long March-4B carrier rocket and have entered their preset orbits. 

They are primarily used for scientific experiments, land and resource surveys, crop yield estimation, and disaster prevention and reduction.

The launch marked the 666th mission of the Long March carrier rockets.