China sent a new communication technology test satellite into the planned orbit from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on the coast of the southern island province of Hainan early on Sunday.

The satellite was launched by a Long March-7A rocket at 12:05 a.m. (Beijing Time). It will be used mainly for multi-band and high-speed communication technology validation.

This launch was the 566th mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.