A Long March-3B carrier rocket carrying the Tiantong 1-03 satellite blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province, southwest China, January 20, 2021 (XINHUA) 

China successfully launched a new mobile telecommunication satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province on January 19. 

The Tiantong 1-03 satellite was launched at 00:25 a.m. (Beijing Time) by a Long March-3B carrier rocket and entered the planned orbit successfully.

Tiantong-1 is a satellite mobile communication system independently developed and built by China. It consists of a space segment, ground segment, and user terminal.

Developed by the China Academy of Space Technology, the Tiantong 1-03 satellite will establish a mobile network with ground facilities to provide all-weather, all-time, stable and reliable mobile communication services such as voice, short message and data for users in China and its surrounding areas, the Middle East, Africa and other related regions, as well as most sea areas in the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean.

The launch was the 358th by the Long March rocket series and also the country's first space launch in 2021.