A Chinese Long March 3A rocket successfully launched a telecommunications satellite on Monday, news reports said.

Liftoff occurred at 1645 GMT (11:45 a.m. EST).

The rocket placed the Zhongxing-22 spacecraft into a highly elliptical orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launching Center in Sichuan Province, southwest China, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The satellite will be maneuvered into a geostationary orbit 22,300 miles above Earth, parking itself along the equator at 98 degrees East longitude.

Zhongxing-22 is designed for communications relay series for the China Telecommunications and Broadcasting Satellite Corporation. The satellite has a service life eight years, Xinhua said.

The launch marked the 60th of the Long March carrier family and four flight of the 3A vehicle.