China’s commercial rocket SD-3 launches 7 satellites from sea
A Smart Dragon-3 (SD-3) carrier rocket carrying seven satellites blasts off from waters off the coast of Yangjiang in south China’s Guangdong Province, Feb. 12, 2026.China on Thursday launched a SD-3 carrier rocket from the sea, sending seven satellites, including Pakistan’s PRSC-EO2 satellite, into planned orbits. The offshore launch mission was carried out by the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. (Photo by Guo Jinqi/Xinhua)
YANGJIANG, Guangdong, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) — China on Thursday launched a Smart Dragon-3 (SD-3) carrier rocket from the sea, sending seven satellites into planned orbits.
The SD-3 commercial rocket blasted off at 2:37 p.m. (Beijing Time) from waters off the coast of Yangjiang in south China’s Guangdong Province. The seven satellites include Pakistan’s PRSC-EO2 satellite.
The offshore launch mission was carried out by the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.
Thursday’s launch was an important achievement of China-Pakistan space cooperation. The PRSC-EO2 satellite is equipped with high-resolution optical payloads. The remote sensing data it acquires will serve Pakistan in various fields such as land mapping, environmental and natural disaster monitoring, and natural resource protection.
This is the fourth time that the SD-3 rocket has undertaken a commercial launch mission with multiple satellites onboard, showcasing its core advantages in payload adaptability, application scenarios and commercial service capabilities. ■
A Smart Dragon-3 (SD-3) carrier rocket carrying seven satellites blasts off from waters off the coast of Yangjiang in south China’s Guangdong Province, Feb. 12, 2026.
China on Thursday launched a SD-3 carrier rocket from the sea, sending seven satellites, including Pakistan’s PRSC-EO2 satellite, into planned orbits.
The offshore launch mission was carried out by the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. (Photo by Guo Jinqi/Xinhua)
A Smart Dragon-3 (SD-3) carrier rocket carrying seven satellites blasts off from waters off the coast of Yangjiang in south China’s Guangdong Province, Feb. 12, 2026.
China on Thursday launched a SD-3 carrier rocket from the sea, sending seven satellites, including Pakistan’s PRSC-EO2 satellite, into planned orbits.
The offshore launch mission was carried out by the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. (Photo by Guo Jinqi/Xinhua)
A Smart Dragon-3 (SD-3) carrier rocket carrying seven satellites blasts off from waters off the coast of Yangjiang in south China’s Guangdong Province, Feb. 12, 2026.
China on Thursday launched a SD-3 carrier rocket from the sea, sending seven satellites, including Pakistan’s PRSC-EO2 satellite, into planned orbits.
The offshore launch mission was carried out by the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. (Photo by Guo Jinqi/Xinhua)
A Smart Dragon-3 (SD-3) carrier rocket carrying seven satellites blasts off from waters off the coast of Yangjiang in south China’s Guangdong Province, Feb. 12, 2026. China on Thursday launched a SD-3 carrier rocket from the sea, sending seven satellites, including Pakistan’s PRSC-EO2 satellite, into planned orbits.
The offshore launch mission was carried out by the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. (Xinhua/Lu Hanxin)
A Smart Dragon-3 (SD-3) carrier rocket carrying seven satellites blasts off from waters off the coast of Yangjiang in south China’s Guangdong Province, Feb. 12, 2026. China on Thursday launched an SD-3 carrier rocket from the sea, sending seven satellites, including Pakistan’s PRSC-EO2 satellite, into planned orbits.
The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center carried out the offshore launch mission. (Xinhua/Lu Hanxin)
A Smart Dragon-3 (SD-3) carrier rocket carrying seven satellites blasts off from waters off the coast of Yangjiang in south China’s Guangdong Province, Feb. 12, 2026. China on Thursday launched an SD-3 carrier rocket from the sea, sending seven satellites, including Pakistan’s PRSC-EO2 satellite, into planned orbits.
The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center carried out the offshore launch mission. (Xinhua/Lu Hanxin)
Reference Link:- https://english.news.cn/20260212/87e657a685314911bc15a8347853e430/c.html
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
