China launches another batch of satellites for its space internet on Long March 8A
China sent the 28th group of satellites for its state-run satellite internet into orbit overnight into Sunday. A Long March 8A rocket lifted off from the commercial launch site on Hainan island.
Symbolic image · Photo: AAxanderr / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
A Long March 8A rocket lifted off at 10:03 a.m. Beijing time on Sunday (0203 GMT) from the commercial spaceport on the southern island of Hainan. It carried the 28th group of satellites for China's low-Earth-orbit internet network, state news agency Xinhua reported, adding that the satellites reached their planned orbit. Xinhua did not say how many satellites were on board.
According to the Science and Technology Daily newspaper, it was the 674th flight of a rocket from the Long March family. The satellites were built under the lead of the Fifth Academy of state space conglomerate CASC. The Long March 8A first flew in February 2025.
The state network, known internationally as Guowang, is widely seen as China's answer to SpaceX's Starlink. The 26th group lifted off on Sept. 23, also on a Long March 8A from Hainan.