BEIJING, December 10. /TASS/. China has launched a Long March-2D carrier rocket with remote sensing Yaogan-39 satellite, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

"The rocket blasted off at 9:58 a.m. (Beijing Time) [1:58 a.m. GMT] from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan and sent the Yaogan-39 satellite into the preset orbit," the news agency reported.

According to Xinhua, it was the 500th anniversary launch of the Long March series of rockets.

The China Daily newspaper reported later that "It was China's 59th rocket launch this year and the 13th flight of the Long March 2D model in 2023."

"Of the 500 Long March liftoffs, 297 were carried out by models developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology in Beijing and 203 by Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology," according to the daily. "Both academies are subsidiaries of the State-owned conglomerate China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the nation's dominant space contractor.".