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China launched an earth-observation satellite into space from North China's Shanxi province on Friday, local sources reported.

The satellite can provide remote-sensing images and data for several public sector fields and businesses including natural resource surveying, disaster relief, agriculture, forestry, environmental protection and urban construction.

The satellite, which carries a domestically developed high-resolution multi-mode imager, was lifted atop a Long March 4B carrier rocket at 11:10am, according to the China National Space Administration. An optical remote-sensing satellite in the Gaofen series. It is expected to operate at least eight years in a sun-synchronous orbit. Its imager is the country's highest-definition civilian camera, capable of taking clear pictures of a car's windows from an altitude of more than 600 kilometers, the academy said.

By now, more than 10 Gaofen satellites have been launched and are in service. Images and data from the Gaofen satellites have been widely used in more than 20 industries across China and have helped reduce the country's dependence on foreign remote-sensing products, the administration said.