China launches satellite for natural disaster monitoring

JIUQUAN, June 14 — China launched an electromagnetic monitoring satellite on Saturday, which is expected to enhance the country’s “space-air-ground” integrated monitoring capabilities for major natural disasters.

A Long March-2D carrier rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 3:56 p.m. (Beijing Time), successfully sending the Zhangheng 1-02 satellite into its planned orbit, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The CNSA said that this marks a significant step forward for China in the field of space-based observation of the Earth’s physical fields.

Named after the ancient Chinese inventor Zhang Heng, who created the world’s first seismoscope over 1,800 years ago, the satellite was jointly developed by China and Italy. It is the first operational satellite dedicated to exploring the Earth’s physical fields under China’s medium and long-term civil space infrastructure development plan, according to the CNSA.

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