A Long March-11 rocket carrying a tech-experimental satellite as part of the Hongyun Project, a low-orbit broadband communication satellite system, blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 7:51 a.m. on Dec. 22, 2018. The satellite successfully entered its preset orbit. The successful launch signifies the substantial progress of China in mapping the low-orbit broadband communication satellite system. (Xinhua/Li Jin)

JIUQUAN, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- China launched a tech-experimental satellite as part of the Hongyun Project, a low-orbit broadband communication satellite system on Saturday morning.

A Long March-11 rocket carrying the experimental satellite blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 7：51 a.m.. It successfully entered its preset orbit.

It was also the first satellite of the Hongyun Project. The successful launch signifies the substantial progress of China in mapping the low-orbit broadband communication satellite system, said developer China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC).