BEIJING: China on Tuesday kicked off its 2026 space mission schedule by successfully launching the Yaogan-50 01 remote sensing satellite into orbit. The satellite was launched at 10:16 p.m. Beijing Time from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China’s Shanxi Province aboard a modified Long March-6 carrier rocket.
According to the launch center, the satellite has smoothly entered its designated orbit.Yaogan-50 01 will support national land surveys, crop yield assessments, and disaster prevention and mitigation efforts. This mission marked the 624th launch of the Long March rocket series and China’s first successful orbital launch of 2026.
