China has launched the world's first synthetic aperture radar satellite in high-altitude orbit, according to the China National Space Administration. Dedicated to natural disaster prevention and mitigation, the remote sensing satellite, Land Surveyor 4A, was carried into orbit on a Long March 3B rocket that blasted off at 1:26 am on Sunday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province. It soon entered its preset geosynchronous orbit, the administration said in a news release. Developed by the China Academy of Space Technology, the Land Surveyor 4A will extensively improve China's space-based disaster monitoring system. it noted. It will also be used in land and marine resources management, weather forecasting, environmental protection, and agricultural and forestry industries, the administration said.