The "Yaogan III" satellite will also be used for collecting data for crop yield estimate and disaster prevention, Xinhua news agency reported.

It was launched on a Long March carrier rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launching Centre in the northern province of Shanxi.

Another Long March carrier rocket launched China's first lunar orbiter, Chang'e I, on October 24.

China has hailed the lunar orbiter as the third major milestone for the nation's space programme, after developing rockets and satellites since the 1970s and sending men into orbit in 2003 and 2005.

The nation's first remote sensing satellite was launched in April last year, while the second was launched in May this year, Xinhua said.

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