SAVE MONEY ON TRAVEL DEALS

According to Xinhua, the satellite's mission is scientific research, geological surveying and mapping. The news agency did not go into detail, but said the satellite had "better performance than previous ones."

Officials from the Xi'an Satellite Measuring and Control Center said the payload from the Long March 2-D carrier rocket entered a preset orbit approximately 10 minutes after launch.

The satellite is "expected to return in a few days, after accomplishing its mission", Xinhua said.

The launch was the 80th for the Long March line of rockets designed by the Shanghai Space Institute, part of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Group. It was the country's 38th successful space launch going back to 1996.

On Saturday, Sept. 25, China recovered its 19th experimental satellite after it spent 27 days in space.