The Chinese launch 16 new satellites into orbit for commercial remote sensing and atmospheric imaging

As reported by local media, 16 satellites were launched into space on Wednesday, the first time the country has ever conducted such a launch, by the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province.

A Chinese carrier rocket launched Jilin 1 Gaofen 03D09 and Yunyao 1 04-08 satellites at 12:50 pm and successfully placed them in the planned orbit, China Daily reported.

As per reports in the media, the new batch of satellites is mainly used for commercial remote sensing and atmospheric imaging, which are both highly regarded fields in the remote sensing industry.

The Chinese reported earlier this week that two satellites were being launched into space by a Long March-2C carrier rocket in an earlier launch on July 16. Siwei 03 and 04 were launched from Shanxi's Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.

A space station module for China's space station has also been launched, known as Wentian. A local media outlet reports that the new module will serve both as a backup and as a platform for scientific experiments.

Among the most advanced space programs on the planet, China's Shenzhou-13 mission was a major milestone for the country's young space program, which is quickly becoming one of the most advanced in the world.

The CNN website reports that China's space program was established in the early 1970s, years after US astronaut Neil Armstrong had already landed on the moon during the Apollo mission.

As a result of the economic reforms in the 1980s, the Chinese space program progressed until the launch of the first crewed mission in 2003, which was an important step forward. 

Since then, the Chinese have invested billions of dollars into the space program - and the results are already showing a positive return on their investment.

A Chinese probe landed on the moon in December 2020, while another one landed on Mars in May 2021, both of which were successful landings.