A group of college students has made and launched a satellite that has begun to send back data.

Students in Nanjing University of Technology and Engineering independently developed the satellite, using commercial components. They named their self-made satellite “Nanligong-1” - an abbreviation of the name of their college in Chinese.

Small but perfectly formed, the satellite contains all the necessary satellite systems, such as power structure and thermal, altitude and communications controls.

The satellite - carried by a Long March-11 rocket - was successfully launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. It is being used for Global Maritime Automatic Identification, and for demonstrating information exchanges between satellites in-orbit.