XICHANG, July 11 (China Space News) -- China sent a new Beidou navigation satellite into orbit on a Long March-3A rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, in the southwestern Sichuan province, at 4:58 am Tuesday.

The satellite is the 32nd of the Beidou navigation system, and one of the Beidou-2 family, which is the second generation of the system.

The launch was the 280th mission of the Long March rocket series.

China started to construct the third-generation of Beidou system in 2017, and eight Beidou-3 satellites are now in space.