China is planning to develop Long March rocket launches from sea for commercial payloads, according to an aerospace official.

Tang Yagang, vice head of the aerospace division of the No.1 institute of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASTC), said that the technology is comparatively simple and a sea launch platform can be built by modifying freighters.

Key technologies will be tested at sea this year and the service is expected to be made available to international users by 2018, Tang said.

Long March launch rockets will be able to send satellites weighing 500 kilograms to a 500-kilometer-high sun-synchronous orbit by 2018. /VCG Photo

Countries in the equator region have growing needs for launching near-equatorial and low-inclination satellites, said Fu Zhiheng, deputy general manager of China Great Wall Industry Corporation, affiliated to CASTC.

"The closer to the equator we launch a satellite, the less carrying capacity it will lose and the lower the cost will be," Fu said, adding that space powers are competing to develop near-equatorial sea launches.

Long March carrier rockets have provided 60 commercial launches for domestic and international users, Fu said.