JIUQUAN, Gansu, April 6 (Xinhua) -- China put into space a retrievable scientific research satellite in the early hours of Wednesday in a fresh bid to aid scientists back on Earth in studying microgravity and space life science.

In a cloud of brown smoke, the satellite, SJ-10, roared into the air on the back of a Long March 2-D rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's gobi desert.

While in space, the bullet-shaped probe will house 19 experiments involving microgravity fluid physics, microgravity combustion, space material, space radiation effect, microgravity biological effect and space bio-technology, before coming back to Earth with results.

SJ-10 is returnable. It is the 25th such retrievable satellite launched by China in the past decades. Overall, eight of the experiments on fluid physics and microgravity combustion will be carried out in the orbital module and the others in the re-entry capsule which is expected to land at Siziwang Banner in Inner Mongolia.