HAIKOU, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists launched a sounding rocket from south China's Hainan Province in the early hours of Wednesday.

The rocket fulfilled its mission of taking measurements in the upper atmosphere that will help with research of rocket sounding, high-speed flight and space tourism.

Peaking at 316 km, the whole flight took about 10 minutes.

Sounding rockets are an efficient tool for space exploration and scientific experiments, able to study physical phenomena including geomagnetic fields, cosmic rays and ultraviolet light.