China launched the "Beidou" navigation satellite today aboard a Long March 3A rocket from the Xichang space center in the southwest province of Sichuan, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The story said the craft would complete China's first satellite-based navigation positioning system. This follows the launch of a similar spacecraft two months ago.

China says such a navigation system would provide guidance for the highway, railway and marine sectors by providing accurate 3-D measurements of location in longitude, latitude and altitude. That is the same way the U.S. Global Positioning System works.

The launch was the 64th for a Long March rocket.