RIZHAO, Shandong, May 29 -- China on Wednesday sent a sea-launched rocket into space from the waters surrounding the eastern province of Shandong, placing a group of four satellites into planned orbit.

The launch vehicle, a sea-borne variant of commercial rocket CERES-1, blasted off at 4:12 p.m. (Beijing Time). The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center conducted this offshore mission.

It was the 12th flight mission of the CERES-1 rocket series, the launch center said.