On November 24, 2017 at 18:10 UTC (on November 25 at 02:10 Beijing time) the Chang Zheng-2C (Long March-2C) rocket-carrier was launched from Xichang Cosmodrome, Sichuan province, southwestern China. The rocket orbited three “Yaogan 30-02” military surveillance satellites. State media reported the satellites will be used for electromagnetic observations and other experiments. The Yaogan series of satellites are believed to be operated by the Chinese military for intelligence-gathering purposes.