Beijing: Chinese authorities have launched a satellite made by a group of college students which has already began sending back data, the media reported on Saturday.

Students in Nanjing University of Technology and Engineering independently developed the satellite, using commercial components, the People's Daily reported. 

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 Centre. 

It is being used for Global Maritime Automatic Identification and for demonstrating information exchanges between satellites in-orbit.