The Tiantong 1-03 satellite was launched at 00:25 a.m. (Beijing Time) by a Long March-3B carrier rocket and entered the planned orbit successfully, the Xinhua news agency reported.
China has five coronavirus vaccines in the final stages of development -- but none has received official approval from authorities and the results of late-stage trials have yet to be published.
The two satellites, which compose the Gravitational Wave High-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM) mission, were launched by a Long March-11 carrier rocket during the early hours.