China launches rocket from ship at sea for first time - Reuters
▻https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-space/china-launches-rocket-from-ship-at-sea-for-first-time-idUSKCN1T60GW
A Long March 11 carrier rocket takes off from a mobile launch platform in the Yellow Sea off Shandong province, China June 5, 2019. China Daily via REUTERS
China successfully launched a rocket from a ship at sea for the first time on Wednesday, state media reported, the latest step forward in its ambitious space program.
The Long March 11 rocket blasted off from a platform on a large semi-submersible barge in the Yellow Sea just after midday (0400 GMT), state media said.
The small rocket, designed to be deployed quickly and from mobile launch sites such as a ship, carried seven satellites, including one that measures sea-surface winds to forecast typhoons.
The rocket also carried two communications satellites belonging to China 125, a Beijing-based technology company that plans to launch hundreds of satellites to provide global data networking services.