China on Thursday launched a Long March-3B carrier rocket, using it to place a new experiment satellite in space.

The rocket blasted off at 12:43 p.m. (Beijing Time) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China and carried the Shiyan-10 02 satellite to a preset orbit.

The newly launched Shiyan satellite will be used for in-orbit verification of new space technologies, such as space environment monitoring.

The launch marked the 53rd flight of the Long March rocket family this year and the 458th since the large fleet's maiden flight in 1970.