China launched a high-altitude orbiting satellite into the preset orbit successfully Tuesday morning, using a Long March 2C/SM carrier rocket, according to witnesses at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China.

Witnesses said the "equatorial orbiting" satellite, or Probe No.1, was launched at 03:06 am Tuesday from Xichang in Sichuan Province.

The launch vehicle, developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology under the China Aerospace Technology Corporation, is the improved version of Long March 2C carrier rocket.

The launch was the 75th flight of the Long March carrier rocket and also the 33rd consecutive success of the Long March series of carrier rocket since October 10, 1996.

The launch center in Xichang adopted a new procedure in Tuesday's event, which shortened the satellite's testing period, according to officials with the center.

Probe No. 1 is the first high-altitude orbiting satellite launched by China. It is part of a space probe program carried out jointly by China and the European Space Agency (ESA).

Tracking reports from the Xi'an Satellite Monitor and Control Center showed the launch was successful. The satellite had entered an orbit with a perigee of 551 kilometers and an apogee of 74,017 kilometers, and at a gradient of 28.2 degrees.

(Xinhua News Agency December 30, 2003)