China launched a Kuaizhou 1A carrier rocket on Wednesday afternoon from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province, sending remote-sensing satellite into space.

The solid-propellant rocket blasted off at 12:46 pm from its launch vehicle and placed the Haishao 1, or Sea Sentinel 1, satellite into its preset orbit, according to China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, a State-owned space contractor that developed and built the launch vehicle.

The company said in a news release that the satellite, made by the Shanghai-based Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is equipped with synthetic aperture radars and is tasked with monitoring marine environment and sea targets.