Posted: Tue, Jul 16, 2013, 6:57 AM ET (1057 GMT)

A Long March rocket placed a small experimental satellite into orbit on Monday. A Long March 2C rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 5:27 am EDT (0920 GMT, 5:27 pm Beijing time) Monday carrying the Shijian 11-05 satellite, placing the spacecraft into a sun-synchronous orbit. The satellite, according to official Chinese media, will be used for unspecified scientific and technological experiments, although some Western observers speculate the satellite has military applications as well.