China successfully launched two satellites through one rocket Thursday morning at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gobi desert, about 1,600 km from Beijing.
The satellites were launched at 8.15 a.m.
One of the satellites is the Chuangxin-1-04, designed to collect and transmit data on hydrology, weather, electric power and disaster relief. The other is a "smart satellite" for conducting multi-media telecommunications experiments, China Daily reported.
The two satellites have reached their pre-set orbits via the Long March-2D vehicle, the launch centre said.