China to launch new remote sensing satellite

JIUQUAN, Gansu Province, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- China will launch a new remote
sensing satellite "Yaogan " on Monday at the northwestern Jiuquan Satellite
Launch Center in the northwestern province of Gansu, an official with the center
said on Sunday.

The satellite was to be aboard a Long March-2D carrier rocket into the
space "at an appropriate time", the official said.

At present, both the rocket and the satellite were in good condition and
the preparation went on well.

The satellite would be used for scientific research, land resources
surveying, crop yield estimate and disaster prevention and relief. "It will play
a positive role in the country's economic development," he said.

Its predecessor "Yaogan III" was launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch
Center in north China's Shanxi Province on Nov. 12, 2007.

The "Yaogan I" satellite was launched from Taiyuan on April 27,2006, and
the "Yaogan II" was launched on May 25, 2007 from Jiuquan.