(Yicai) July 22 -- China has successfully carried out its 26th sea-based satellite launch from a service ship off the coast of Shanghai, which was also the second ever conducted in the East China Sea.

Nine satellites and a piece of experimental equipment were sent into space at 10.54 a.m. Beijing time today on a Gravity-1 Y4 carrier rocket developed by private Chinese rocket maker Orienspace.

Mobile sea launch platforms can freely select optimal launch windows and locations, steering clear of unfavorable sea conditions and weather, substantially improving the efficiency of satellite launches.

Gravity-1 Y4 is a medium-sized solid-propellant carrier rocket, with a low Earth orbit payload capacity of 6.5 tons and a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit payload capacity of 4.2 tons. It can theoretically carry up to 30 satellites of the 100-kilogram class in one launch mission.

Gravity-1 has completed three sea launches, an Orienspace spokesperson told Yicai, adding that this mission further validates the rocket's adaptability to complex sea states and long-duration standby capability, paving the way for stable, large-scale commercial operations.

The nine satellites deployed on this flight belong to four operators. Among them, there was Xiguang No. 2 01, a remote-sensing satellite developed by Zhongke Xiguang Aerospace Technology Group, a firm with ties to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Equipped with on-orbit intelligent processing payloads, Xiguang No. 2 01 enables "in-orbit data acquisition and processing and decision-making," Hu Xin, the satellite's technical lead, told Yicai.

Xiguang No. 2 01 addresses longstanding drawbacks of conventional remote-sensing satellites, including delayed calculation results and inadequate identification precision, supporting real-time early warning via satellite remote sensing monitoring, Hu explained.

Furthermore, operating on a 535-km sun-synchronous orbit, Xiguang No. 2 01 can deliver high-frequency, regular monitoring of key zones and support a wide array of monitoring tasks covering mining area ecology, ecological conservation, urban governance, agriculture and forestry surveillance, Hu added.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione