For the first time, China launched a rocket from the sea

On Wednesday, China for a first time successfully launched a rocket from a mobile launch platform in the Yellow Sea at 12:06 pm. A Long March-11 rocket carrying two technology experiment satellites and five commercial satellites into space. The two satellites were developed by China Academy of Space Technology.

A Long March-11 solid propellant carrier rocket blasted off from a launch pad aboard a ship in the Yellow Sea off the coast of Shandong province. This was the China's first space launch from a sea-based platform and the 306th mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.

It is also a leading country in launching number of satellites from its launch stations on land. Launching a carrier rocket from an ocean-based platform has many advantages over a land launch. The closer to the equator a rocket launch can get, the greater the speed boost it will receive and reduces the amount of energy required to get into space and means that less fuel is required, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The launch site is flexible and falling rocket remains pose less danger. Using civilian ships to launch rockets at sea would lower launch costs and give it a commercial edge. The seaborne launch technology will meet the growing launch demand of low inclination satellites and help China provide launch services for countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The aim is to step up all-weather monitoring of ocean wind fields and to improve typhoon monitoring and accuracy of the weather forecast in China.