Sea launch! China's Long March 11 rocket lofts 5 satellites.
China set a new distance record for its offshore launches when it launched five satellites on a rocket from a platform at sea on Saturday.
The Long March 11 rocket successfully launched from the ocean platform in the East China Sea. On Friday, the China National Space Administration launched two other satellites from a land-based spaceport.
The farthest offshore liftoff for China was on Saturday. Since 2020, the country has launched Long March 11 boosters from its De Bo 3 platform.
The launch site is the farthest from the port for us so far, according to the deputy chief designer of Long March 11.
History and photos of China's Long March rocket family.
3 of 3 are images
The five satellites launched by the Long March 11 will mainly provide commercial remote sensing services for industries such as land census, urban planning, and natural disaster monitoring.
The mission was supposed to launch on Friday but was delayed due to weather. It came on the heels of a Long March 2 C rocket launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on land.
The Long March 2C rocket lifted off at 12:11 pm on Friday. Beijing Time is carrying two satellites.
The two satellites will provide commercial remote sensing data services for domestic industries including natural resources, surveying and mapping, marine and environmental protection, as well as emerging markets such as urban security and digital rural development.
In addition to its traditional land-based launches like the one on Friday, China aims to launch up to three sea-based missions with the Long March 11 in 2022.
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