China successfully sent a new satellite into the space for the country's home developed BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, or BDS, on a Long March-3B carrier rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China's Sichuan Province at 2:09 am on June 25, 2019. Photo: Courtesy of Xichang Satellite Launch Center

Nearly 100 Chinese satellites will be launched into space before 2025, adding to the more than 200 that are already in orbit, said a Chinese official on Tuesday.

The announcement was made by Yu Qi, an official at the China National Space Administration, at a conference held in Beijing, news portal chinanews.com reported on Tuesday.

Developing the space economy has become a trend in space development around the world, said Yu, noting that China had developed the fundament and proper environment to accelerate the space economy with breakthroughs in space technologies.

Rockets from China's Long March series have been launched 307 times, sending more than 400 spacecraft into space.

China broke a record in 2018 by conducting 39 launch missions, ranking the first in the world and accounting for one-third of all launches worldwide, the report said.

China last year successfully launched the Chang'e-4 lunar probe with the joint participation of many countries and organizations. "This shows China's space technologies are becoming mature, and its application is also expanding, contributing to the development of the national economy," according to Yu.

Another achievement is the high-resolution earth observation system, or Gaofen satellites project that was initiated in 2010, Yu noted.

Gaofen satellites have been widely used by more than 20 industries around China, playing important roles in environmental protection, forestry, agriculture and mapping, chinanews.com reported.

By the end of this year, the Gaofen-7 satellite will be launched, which will mark the completion of the Gaofen system. The focus will then shift to the practical use of the system, Yu said.

Global Times

Newspaper headline: China plans to launch 100 more satellites by 2025