ISTANBUL

China on Thursday launched four satellites, including three aboard the world’s first rocket entirely powered by solid propellants, state media reported.

The Gravity-1 (YL-1) rocket successfully carried three meteorological satellites into orbit. It was the first flight mission of the commercial carrier rocket.

The rocket, developed by aerospace company Orienspace, was blasted into space from waters off the coast of the city of Haiyang in the eastern Shandong province.

“Gravity-1 has three core stages and four boosters, all powered by solid-propellant motors and equipped with flexible swinging nozzles,” said Orienspace.

Meanwhile, the Tianxing-1 02 satellite rocketed into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gobi Desert, Inner Mongolia.

The Kuaizhou-1A rocket series made its 26th flight to carry the satellite and entered a planned orbit.

The China National Space Administration said that the country’s Chang’e 6 spacecraft is scheduled to land on the lunar surface in the first half of this year.

The Chang’e 6 is a robotic expedition set to bring back samples from the moon’s lesser-known far side.

Components of the probe were transported to Haikou, capital of the Hainan province, by two military cargo planes early this week.

Later, the components were transported to the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the east coast of the island.​​​​​​​