It traverses oxygen-starved, earthquake-prone terrain that for most of the way is over 4, 000 metres (13, 120 feet) above sea level and rises to 5, 072 metres not far off the altitude of Mount Everest's base camp.
Paragliding is another popular way to enjoy the mountains, as the glacial peaks offer high altitude jumping off points with strong winds, giving pilots plenty of air time to enjoy the view of patchwork valleys below.
The satellite - which had been intended to study the effects of climate change - should have separated from the rocket and deployed its solar panels some nine minutes after take-off, at an altitude of 302km.