China launched a Long March 3B carrier rocket early on Saturday morning to send a communication satellite into space, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the country's leading space contractor.

The State-owned company said the rocket blasted off at 12:40 am from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province and later deployed the ChinaSat 1D satellite in its planned orbit. The mission marked the 399th flight of the Long March rocket fleet.

Developed by the China Academy of Space Technology in Beijing, a CASC subsidiary, the satellite is tasked with transmitting telephone, internet, television and radio signals.

Rockets in the Long March 3 series are scheduled to conduct two more flights before year's end, the company said.

CASC planned to make more than 40 launch missions this year, including those for the nation's space station program. It has so far carried out 42 launches, all of which were successful. The company's space program planners said 2021 has become its busiest year in terms of launching activity.

In 2020, China launched a total of 39 carrier rockets.

With 32 successful launches in 2019, the country was the world's most frequent user of carrier rockets that year after earning the title in 2018.

In 2018, China made 39 orbital launches, exactly the same number as the nation's total space missions during the entire 1990s.