Smart Dragon 3 rocket lifts off at sea with seven satellites

China launched a Smart Dragon 3 carrier rocket on Thursday afternoon off the coast of Yangjiang in Guangdong province, sending seven satellites into space.

The rocket blasted off at 2:37 pm from a launch service ship and soon deployed the satellites — including a remote-sensing satellite built by Pakistan — into their preset orbits, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, the maker of the Smart Dragon 3 series, said in a news release after the liftoff. The mission marked the rocket model's ninth launch.

The Smart Dragon 3 is a solid-propellant rocket that stands 31 meters tall, has a diameter of 2.65 meters and a liftoff weight of 140 metric tons.

It is capable of sending multiple satellites with a combined weight of 1.5 tons into a typical sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 kilometers.

The Smart Dragon 3 made its maiden flight in December 2022 from a ship in the Yellow Sea, placing 14 satellites into orbit. All nine of its launches so far have been conducted at sea.

The launch marked China's 12th space mission in 2026.