China today launched a rocket into space from the sea for the first time, helping it achieve its ambitions in the commercial satellite market.
The Long March 11 rocket was launched around noon local time from a platform in the Yellow Sea, between China and the Korean Peninsula, the Chinese space agency CNSA said.
"Long March 11" carried two experimental and five commercial satellites into orbit.
"This was China's first attempt to launch a launch vehicle from the sea. This will allow it to better meet the various launch needs in the satellite domain," CNSA said.
Using a floating launch pad offers several advantages.
In this way, it is possible to bring the rocket closer to the equator, where the rotation of the Earth can be best used. Also, the thrust is stronger and allows more satellites to be sent into orbit, as well as heavier ones.
Launching from the open sea, far from populated areas, minimizes the dangers of falling rocket debris in case of incidents.
According to CNSA, the transportation of a rocket from a Chinese port to a launch pad at sea usually takes no more than a week.
China is not the first to launch missiles from the sea.
Sea Launch, with majority Russian capital, did this dozens of times between 1999 and 2014.
Today's announcement of the successful launch is an important new step for China, which wants to compete in space with the space powers of Russia, the US and the EU.
Beijing has invested billions of euros in the space program, which is run by the military.
China has already sent into orbit numerous satellites for various purposes for itself or for other countries.
At the beginning of the year, China became the first country in the world to land a probe on the dark side of the moon, and officials hope to be able to send a manned mission to the moon "within ten years."
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