Long March-2C rocket preparing for launch. Photo: Government of Pakistan.

China successfully launched two remote sensing satellites for Pakistan today, according to China’s Xinhua news agency. The satellites, PRSS-1 and PakTes-1A, were launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China at 11:56 a.m. local time.

PRSS-1 is China’s first optical remote sensing satellite sold to Pakistan. The satellite will be used for surveying land and resources, monitoring natural disasters, agricultural research, and providing remote sensing information for the China’s Belt and Road region. PakTes-1A is a scientific experiment satellite and was developed by Pakistan.

This is the first international commercial launch for the Long March-2C rocket in about 19 years.