Article Posted on : - Sep 02, 2013

A file photo of a Chinese satellite launch.

BEIJING (BNS): China on Monday sent into space a remote sensing satellite, Yaogan XVII, which it said will be used for conducting scientific experiments and carrying out land surveys.

The satellite was successfully launched by the country's Long March-4C rocket from the Satellite Launch Center at Jiuquan in northwest China's Gansu Province, the images of which were carried by the official Xinuha news agency.

The satellite will also monitor crop yields and aid in reducing and preventing natural disasters, the news agency reported.

The US space agency NASA's spaceflight.com, however, reported that Monday's space launch comprised of three satellites under the Yaogan Weixing-17 mission.

The triplet comprised an electro-optical surveillance satellite, an synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite, and possibly an electronic/signal intelligence satellite, it said.

The satellites would be used to locate and track foreign warships and collect the optical and radio electronic signatures of maritime vessels that will be used in conjunction with other information valuable for the Chinese maritime forces, the web portal reported.