JIUQUAN, Gansu - China put into space a retrievable scientific research satellite in the early hours of Wednesday in a fresh bid to aid scientists back on Earth in studying microgravity and space life science.

In a cloud of brown smoke, the satellite, SJ-10, roared into the air on the back of a Long March 2-D rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's gobi desert.