JIUQUAN, Gansu, Dec. 11 -- China sent the Yaogan-25 remote sensing satellite into a scheduled orbit at 3:33 a.m. on Thursday from the Jiuquan satellite launch center.

The Yaogan-25 was carried by a Long March-4C rocket. It was the 201st mission for the Long March rocket technology.

Yaogan satellites are mainly used for scientific experiments, natural resource surveys, crop yield estimates and disaster relief.

China launched the first satellite in the "Yaogan" series, Yaogan-1, in 2006.