TAIYUAN, Sept. 8 -- China successfully launched the Yaogan-21 remote sensing satellite into preset orbit at 11:22 a.m. on Monday Beijing Time (0322 GMT) from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.

Also launched in this mission was the Tiantuo-1 satellite, designed and built by the National University of Defense Technology and carried by Long March-4B rocket.

Yaogan-21 will be used for scientific experiments, natural resource survey, estimation of crop yield and disaster relief, while Tiantuo-1 was designed for smart satellite experiments.

The launch is the 193rd mission for the Long March rocket family.