On August 24, 2010 at 07:10 UTC the Chang Zheng-2D (Long March 2D) rocket-carrier was launched from the Jiuquan launching base near the border of northern China's Inner Mongolia and Gansu provinces. The rocket orbited the Tianhui 1 satellite.
Authorities will use Tianhui 1 for scientific research, mapping and land resource surveys to help promote economic development, according to a statement on the Chinese Ministry of Defense website.