JIUQUAN, May 21 (Xinhua) -- China on Sunday successfully sent new space science satellites into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, including Macao's first space exploration satellite project Macao Science 1.

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) said that the satellites were launched at 4:00 p.m. (Beijing Time) by a Long March-2C carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China and entered their preset orbits successfully.

According to the CNSA, Macao Science 1 is the first space science satellite program jointly developed by the Chinese mainland and Macao. The project is also the first scientific exploration satellite placed in a near-equatorial orbit to monitor the geomagnetic field and the space environment.

It was the 474th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series. A scientific experiment satellite named Luojia-2 was sent into space at the same time.