China launches two new satellites

China launched a Long March 2C carrier rocket on Thursday afternoon to deploy two satellites into their preset orbit, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the nation's leading space contractor.

The State-owned conglomerate said in a news release that the rocket blasted off at 3:08 pm at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China and soon placed the satellites, Siwei Gaojing 1C and 1D, into a sun-synchronous orbit about 500 kilometers above the land.

Developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, a CASC subsidiary, the satellites are equipped with high-resolution optical imagers and will be used to obtain data for the management of natural resources, city construction planning, emergency response and other commercial operations, according to the company.