China places multipurpose satellite into space

China placed a multipurpose satellite into space on Wednesday morning, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

The State-owned space conglomerate said in a news release the Tianhui 5 satellite was transported by a Long March 6A rocket that blasted off at 6:50 am from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province.

Made by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, the satellite is tasked with conducting geological surveys, land resources investigations and scientific experiments, it said.

The Long March 6A medium-lift rocket, also a product of the Shanghai academy, consists of a 50-meter, liquid-propelled core booster and four solid-fuel side boosters. The core booster has a diameter of 3.35 meters and is propelled by two 120-ton thrust engines burning liquid oxygen and kerosene.

With a liftoff weight of 530 metric tons, the rocket is mainly tasked with transporting satellites to multiple types of orbit, including sun-synchronous, low-Earth and intermediate circular orbit.

The mission was China's 50th rocket launch this year and the 494th flight of the Long March rocket family, the nation's main launch vehicle fleet.