The Yaogan III satellite was launched on board a Long March-4C carrier rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China at 6:48 a.m. Beijing time (10:48 p.m. GMT Sunday).
The 2,700-kilogram satellite will be used for scientific research, land resource surveys, crop yield estimates, disaster prevention and relief, Xinhua said.
The Yaogan I satellite was launched in April 2006, and the Yaogan II was launched in May 2007.
Both the satellite and carrier rocket have been developed by the Shanghai Academy of Space Flight Technology affiliated with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
China, which has recently unveiled comprehensive space exploration plans, launched its first lunar probe Change'e-1 into space in October.
