The State-owned space contractor said in a statement the solid-propellant rocket blasted off at 2:19 pm at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China and soon deployed the satellite - Jilin-1 Gaofen-02D - into its preset orbit. The mission marked the 11th flight of the Kuaizhou 1A.
Kuaizhou is the largest solid-propellant rocket family in China, as opposed to the Long March series that mainly relies on liquid fuel.
The 20-meter Kuaizhou 1A has a liftoff weight of about 30 metric tons. It is capable of sending 200 kilograms of payload into a sun-synchronous orbit, or 300 kg of payload into a low-Earth orbit, according to CASIC.
Since its maiden flight in January 2017, the rocket has lifted 20 satellites into space.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
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