China has launched Gaofen-8 Earth observation satellite from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the Shanxi province.
A Long March 4B rocket lifted-off the satellite from the LC9 launch complex at the facility, marking the 205th launch of the Long March rocket family.
The satellite was placed into a 469km by 481km orbit at an inclination of 97.3°, according to Chinese media.
Developed by China Aerospace Science and Technology (CASC), Gaofen-8 is designed to facilitate climate surveying, disaster response, precision agriculture mapping, urban planning and road network design.
Data gathered will primarily help the Ministry of Land and Resources, Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the Ministry of Agriculture.
Gaofen-8 satellite is part of the China High-Resolution Earth Observation System (CHEOS), which will comprise eight or nine satellites.
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By GlobalDataAccording to the China National Space Administration (CNSA), CHEOS is a series of high-resolution optical Earth observation satellites placed in various orbits.
The Gaofen-2 satellite was launched in August 2014, and is said to have highest spatial resolution of 1m in the series, reported gbtimes citing Chinanews report.
The next satellite scheduled for launch is the Gaofen-3 later this year followed by Gaofen-4 in 2016, with plans to put the entire CHEOS series in orbit by 2020.
The Gaofen satellite payloads include optical, infrared and microwave imagers, spectrometers and specialised sensors, reported Astro Watch.
