On December 27, 2014 at 03:22 UTC the “Long March – 4B” (“Changzheng-4B”) rocket-carrier was launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province. The rocket orbited the “Yaogan-26” Earth observation satellite. Chinese media refer to the “Yaogan-26” satellite as a remote sensing satellite that will be used for scientific experiments, land survey, crop yield assessment, and disaster monitoring. Chinese state media did not announce the launch in advance, keeping with customary practice for rocket launches with Chinese military satellites. Some observers believe that the “Yaogan-26” is a military reconnaissance satellite.