TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) said Thursday (Nov. 23) that it had monitored a Chinese satellite launch.

At around 6 p.m., China sent a satellite, called the Space-based Internet Technology Demonstrator, into space, according to China Daily. It was designed and produced by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which is based in Shanghai.

The launch was conducted at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan with a Long March 2D carrier rocket. The rocket's flight path was directed toward the South China Sea and reached altitudes outside the atmosphere, posing no threat to Taiwan, the MND said.

The ministry emphasized that it utilized intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to track the satellite’s trajectory and other information. This was China's 54th rocket launch this year.

Last week, China launched the Haiyang-3 satellite to provide all-weather ocean observation for a planned mission lifetime of eight years.