China launched its first civil-use satellite constellation Saturday morning from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on a Long March 4th carrier rocket.

The satellite constellation consists of three Gaofen-1 earth observation satellites: Gaofen ("high resolution") 02, 03 and 04. They will join their predecessor Gaofen 01 to form a 3+1 network that can provide global coverage every 15 days.

The satellite constellation is intended for use in agricultural planning, disaster relief, environmental protection, and emergency management.