Galactic Energy, a private rocket maker in Beijing, used its Ceres 1 carrier rocket to send five small satellites into space on Friday morning.

The company said in a news release that the rocket blasted off at 7:39 pm at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gobi Desert and placed the satellites into an orbit about 535 kilometers above the Earth.

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The satellites are tasked with verifying new technologies and measuring atmospheric elements, according to Galactic Energy.

The launch marked the 13th flight of the Ceres 1 rocket model, and took place only two days after its 12th mission.

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On Wednesday afternoon, Galactic Energy launched a Ceres 1 from a ship in the Yellow Sea, placing four satellites into an orbit. It was the second sea-based launch by the company.

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The solid-propellant Ceres 1 is about 20 meters tall, has a diameter of 1.4 meters and mainly burns solid propellant. With a liftoff weight of 33 metric tons, it is capable of sending a 300-kilogram satellite or several satellites with a combined weight of 300 kg, to a 500-km sun synchronous orbit, or 350-kg payloads to a low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 200 km.

The 13 Ceres 1 flights have placed 44 satellites into space, according to Galactic Energy.