Long March-2D carrier rocket carrying a high-definition earth observation satellite “Gaofen-1” and other three small satellites made by Ecuador, Argentina and Turkey as well as two satellite splitters from the Netherlands blasts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwest China’s Gansu Province, April 26, 2013.

The satellite unfolded its solar panel in orbit at 12:39 p.m. after its carrier — a Long March-2D rocket — was launched from northwest China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 12:13 p.m. Beijing time, announced the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND).

Developed by the China Academy of Space Technology, Gaofen-1 will be followed into space by another four of five satellites before the end of 2016 to form the high-definition earth observation system (HDEOS).