China launches Long March 4C carrier rocket

China launched a Long March 4C carrier rocket to send an experimental satellite into space on May 12 morning.

The rocket lifted off at 7:43 am at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert and then placed the Shiyan 23 satellite into its preset orbits, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the country's leading space contractor.

Both the rocket and the satellite were designed and made by the company's Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology.

The Long March 4C model has a liftoff weight of 250 metric tons, and is mainly used to send a satellite to sun-synchronous orbit. It is capable of transporting satellites with a combined weight of 3 tons to a typical sun-synchronous orbit 700 kilometers above the Earth.

The Shiyan 23 is tasked with monitoring and surveying the space environment, the State-owned conglomerate said in a news release.

Sunday's mission was the 22nd space launch in China this year and the 522nd flight of the Long March rocket series.