The launch came six days after a rocket carrying astronaut Yang Liwei blasted off from a separate base in the Gobi Desert in China's desert northwest. Yang circled the earth for 21 1/2 hours before landing in the country's northern grasslands.

China's space program is a major prestige project for the communist government, which says it will yield scientific and technological benefits.

Space officials said last week following Yang's return that China plans another manned flight within two years and wants to put a space station in orbit.

The launch Tuesday was the 30th consecutive successful launch with a Long March booster, Xinhua said.

China suffered three failed satellite launches in the mid-1990s when rockets blew up after liftoff or went off course. One explosion reportedly killed six people on the ground.

The Chinese-Brazilian satellite is intended to ``monitor Earth's land resources change, survey arable lands and grasslands, monitor natural and human disasters, offer information on aquatic farming and environmental pollution, and explore mineral resources,'' Xinhua said.

According to earlier reports, the satellite is to operate for two years. It is the second earth-surveying satellite launched by China and Brazil.

China is to control the satellite for 18 months, then turn over command to Brazil, the newspaper China Daily said Monday. It said the two countries are at work on two more versions of the satellite.

China also has agreed to take part in two European satellite programs -- one to create a navigation network and the other to study the Earth's magnetic field.

China has a third rocket-launching base in the southwestern city of Xichang.

Chinese President Hu Jintao exchanged congratulations with his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue.

The launch will benefit both nations and ``make contributions to world prosperity and development,'' she said.