China launches Long March 5 carrier rocket to deploy new satellite

China launched a Long March 5 carrier rocket on Thursday evening to deploy a technology demonstration satellite into space, according to the State-owned conglomerate China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the nation's dominant space contractor.

The company said in a news release that the rocket blasted off at 10:30 pm from a coastal service tower in the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province and soon placed the Communications Technology Demonstrator 20 satellite in its intended orbit, the company said.

One of the world's most powerful operational rockets, the Long March 5 model was designed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology in Beijing, the nation's major rocket maker and a CASC subsidiary.

Compared with the conventional Long March 5 configuration, the one used on Thursday had an extended fairing — the top structure on a rocket containing satellites or other payloads — 18.5 meters tall.

The fairings on typical Long March 5 rockets were about 12.3 meters tall.

The extended Long March 5 model has an overall height of 63.2 meters, making it the tallest-ever rocket type in China.

The Communications Technology Demonstrator 20 was built by another CASC subsidiary, China Academy of Space Technology, and is tasked with verifying multi-band high-speed satellite communications technologies, according to the company.

The mission was China's 66th space launch this year and the 602nd flight of the Long March family, the nation's main launch vehicle fleet.