China's Smart Dragon 3 rocket successfully launches 2 satellites from sea

HAIYANG, Shandong -- A carrier rocket launched from waters off East China's Shandong province Wednesday has sent two hyperspectral satellites into orbit, which are expected to support high-precision observation in China and large-scale monitoring of land and sea worldwide.

The Smart Dragon 3 carrier rocket blasted off at 10:38 am (Beijing Time) near the city of Haiyang, delivering the Oriental Smart Eye hyperspectral satellites 01 and 02 into planned orbits. The offshore mission was conducted by the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.

Weighing around 300 kg each, the satellites each carry a hyperspectral imager featuring 22 calibrated spectral bands, a spatial resolution of 5 meters and an imaging swath of 300 km. Together, the pair is designed to provide global revisit coverage every five days, according to the developer.