TAIYUAN, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- China sent a new satellite into space on Tuesday from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the northern province of Shanxi.

The Ziyuan III 04 satellite was launched by a Long March-4B rocket at 11:17 a.m. Beijing time, according to the center.

It was the 617th flight mission of the Long March rocket series.