A rocket with five satellites has been launched by China, setting a new distance record for the country's offshore launches

The Long March 11 rocket with five satellites was launched by China on Saturday, April 30, 2022. The rocket has been launched into orbit from an ocean platform in the East China Sea, setting a new distance record for the country's offshore launches, as per a report by space.com. "The launch site is the farthest from the port for us so far," Zhang Ming, deputy chief designer of Long March 11, told the state-run CCTV news channel, as quoted by space.com. "The mission will accumulate technologies and experience for our sea launch in the future," he added further.

The launch was the third sea launch for the country, while it was the second launch in as many days for the China National Space Administration. It can be known that China has launched Long March 11 boosters from its De Bo 3 platform since 2020. While, the China National Space Administration launched two other satellites from a land-based spaceport on Friday.

CCTV, the state run news channel further reported that the five satellites launched by the rocket "will mainly provide commercial remote sensing services for industries such as land census, urban planning, and natural disaster monitoring."

Initially, the rocket with 5 satellites was slated to launch on Friday, April 29. However, due to unfavourable weather conditions the mission got delayed by a day. It came on the heels of a Long March 2 C rocket launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre on land to deliver two remote-sensing satellites into orbit, according to the information provided.

"The two satellites will provide commercial remote sensing data services for domestic industries including natural resources, surveying and mapping, marine and environmental protection, as well as emerging markets such as urban security and digital rural development," CCTV reported.