China early Monday morning successfully launched its sixth orbiter which will form part of its indigenous satellite-navigation and -positioning network.

A Long March-3C carrier rocket carrying the "Beidou," or Compass, navigation satellite took off at 0:26 a.m. Monday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

It will join five other satellites already in orbit to form a network. which will eventually consist of 35 satellites.

The network will provide satellite navigation services for Asia-Pacific regions by 2012 and global services by 2020.

The China Academy of Space Technology developed the satellite and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology developed the carrier rocket.