China launched its latest oceanographic research satellite, the HY-2D, on a Long March 4B carrier rocket from the Gobi Desert on Wednesday morning, according to the China National Space Administration.

　　The administration said in a statement that the satellite, which lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, is tasked with working with its two predecessors — the HY-2B and the HY-2C — to form a space-based network monitoring the dynamic marine environment around the clock.

　　In October 2018, the HY-2B was lifted atop a Long March 4B at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province. The HY-2C was launched in September last year by the same type of rocket from the Jiuquan center.

　　Data generated by the network, which is operated by the Ministry of Natural Resources, will be used in marine weather forecasts, early warnings for storms, maritime transportation and oceanographic and climate change research, the administration said.

　　China has paid a great deal of attention to the research and investigation of marine resources for many years and started discussing the construction of marine research satellites in the 1980s, according to China Academy of Space Technology.

　　The nation launched its first marine observation satellite, HY-1A, in May 2002, laying the foundation for an oceanographic monitoring system.

　　So far, the nation has deployed 10 marine satellites into space, including one jointly made by Chinese and French researchers.

　　Oceanic and space authorities plan to launch the HY-3A, the first in the HY-3 series, on a Long March 4B at the Jiuquan center in the near future. It will be used to conduct marine surveillance operations with its advanced radar system, sources said.