A satellite co-developed by France and China has launched to search for the strongest explosions in the universe, marking a significant partnership between a Western nation and China.

The 930kg (2,050-pound) satellite, equipped with four instruments – two French and two Chinese – was launched aboard a Chinese Long March 2C rocket from a site in Xichang, in China's Sichuan province, state television CCTV reported.

Engineers from both countries developed the Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM), designed to detect gamma-ray bursts, which are signals that may have traveled billions of light years towards Earth.

Gamma-ray bursts typically occur following the explosion of massive stars over 20 times the size of the sun, or through the merger of compact stars.

These extremely luminous cosmic rays release energy equal to more than that of a billion suns.

According to Ore Gottlieb, an astrophysicist at the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Astrophysics in New York, studying these bursts is akin to "looking back in time," since the light takes such a long journey to reach us.

“SVOM can help unlock numerous mysteries in the field of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), including detecting the farthest GRBs in the cosmos, which correspond to the universe’s earliest GRBs,” Gottlieb explained.

The furthest away bursts found thus far occurred just 630 million years post-Big Bang, during the universe's infancy.

In orbit 625km (388 miles) above Earth, the satellite will transmit its data to various observatories. Upon detecting a burst, SVOM will alert a continuously active team.

Analysts note that examining this data could enhance our comprehension of space's composition, as well as the dynamics of gas clouds or other galaxies.

However, one primary challenge is that gamma-ray bursts are incredibly brief, necessitating a speedy information-gathering process.

This project has emerged from a collaboration of the French and Chinese space agencies, together with various scientific and technical groups from both nations.

Such space partnerships between Western countries and China are relatively rare, particularly after the United States restricted NASA’s collaboration with Beijing in 2011.

“While US policies on technology transfer have discouraged their allies from significantly collaborating with China, it does occasionally happen,” Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, informed AFP.

Therefore, while SVOM is not “entirely unique,” it represents a "notable" instance of space cooperation between China and the West, McDowell highlighted.

China’s rapid advancements in space and lunar exploration are outpacing those of the US, drawing partners from Europe and Asia.

Earlier this month, China’s Chang’e-6 lunar mission carried instruments from the European Space Agency, as well as research entities from Pakistan, France, and Italy, to the moon's far side.

Additionally, China is engaged in satellite development and launches with countries like Brazil, Egypt, and Thailand.