China’s commercial rocket launches 7 satellites from sea

On Thursday, February 12, at 8:37 PM UTC (2:37 PM Beijing time), China launched a Smart Dragon-3 (SD-3) carrier rocket from the sea. The rocket launched from waters off the coast of Yangjian in South China’s Guangdong Province. The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center carried out the offshore launch mission.

The SD-3 rocket had 7 satellites on board. This is the fourth time the rocket has undertaken a commercial launch mission that carries multiple satellites. This demonstrates the rocket’s ability to handle different types of payloads and support a wide range of missions. Carrying multiple satellites is also cost-effective, making it attractive for the commercial market.

Pakistan’s PRSC-EO2 was among the seven satellites launched aboard the SD-3 rocket. It is only the country’s second indigenous Earth observation satellite. The satellite will collect remote sensing data that will improve the country’s Earth observation capabilities. PRSC-EO2 will help Pakistan with land mapping, monitoring the environment and natural disasters, and protecting natural resources.

PRSC-EO2 launching on a Chinese rocket is a major achievement of China-Pakistan space cooperation. It could open doors to more collaborations in the future.