INTERNATIONAL: China has successfully sent a new communication technology experiment satellite into space from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province Thursday.

The satellite was launched by a Long March-3B carrier rocket and has entered the planned orbit. The launch has marked the 405th mission of Long March series carrier rockets. It is also the 100th launch carried out on Xichang's Number 2 launch pad, making it the first to host 100 launches in China's aerospace history.

"The Number 2 launch pad was originally built for the commercial launch of the Optus satellites. It is also the one that hosted the maiden launch of the Long March 2E, the first high-thrust carrier rocket in the country. As China's astronautical technology was gradually improved, the launch pad was mainly used for the launches of the Long March-3A series," said Li Benqi, deputy director of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.