China has launched a satellite that will survey the maritime environment to help prevent and reduce maritime disasters, according to a report from Voice of America,

The Haiyang-2 satellite was launched Tuesday morning by a Long March-4B rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in North China.

The Haiyang-2 is designed to monitor ocean wind fields, sea levels and temperatures, waves, currents, tides and storms in order to provide disaster and weather forecasting information, according to the report. The satellite is equipped with a microwave radar altimeter to measure sea levels and wind speeds.

Image: An artist’s rendition of the Haiyang-2 satellite.  Via Brahman.com