China launches Earth-observation radar satellites

China launched four Earth-observation radar satellites into space early on Tuesday morning, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

The State-owned contractor said in a news release that a Long March 2D rocket blasted off at 2:50 am at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province and soon placed the four PIESAT-2 satellites in their preset low-Earth orbit.

Developed by the Beijing-based private satellite maker GalaxySpace, the satellites are equipped with synthetic aperture radars that can obtain high-resolution images. They also have data processors and autonomous planning systems, according to the company.

Duan Xiao, chief designer of the satellites, said that synthetic aperture radar allows for round-the-clock, all-weather monitoring of designated areas on Earth and can play important roles in many public service fields such as land resources management, natural disaster detection and geological mapping.

The Long March 2D rocket model, designed and built by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, is propelled by liquid propellants and has a liftoff thrust of 300 metric tons. It is capable of sending a 1.3-ton spacecraft to a typical sun-synchronous orbit with an altitude of 700 kilometers.

The mission was China's 65th space launch this year and the 553rd flight of the Long March family, the nation's main launch vehicle fleet.