China successfully launched a satellite into space at 12:12 a.m. Beijing Time Saturday, the 11th one of its indigenous global navigation and positioning network known as Beidou, or Compass system, the launch center said.

The satellite, launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern Sichuan Province, was boosted by a Long March-3C carrier rocket into a geosynchronous orbit.

It was also the 158th launch of the Long March carrier rockets.

A Long March-3C carrier rocket sets off at Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest Sichuan Province, Feb. 25, 2012. China successfully launched a satellite into space Saturday, the 11th one of its indigenous global navigation and positioning network known as Beidou, or Compass system. (Xinhua/Fan Jun).

The Beidou system started to provide services on a trial basis on Dec. 27, 2011. The system has been used in transportation, weather forecasting, marine fisheries, hydrological monitoring, and mapping.

China began to build the Beidou system in 2000 with a goal of breaking its dependence on the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and creating its own global positioning system by 2020.

China will launch more satellites for the Beidou network this year to improve the system's coverage and services, according to the launch center.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

Provided by:

Center for Earth Observation and Digital Earth,CAS;The Lanzhou Branch of the National Science Library / The Scientific Information Center for Resources and Environment,CAS