A Long March-8A carrier rocket carrying a group of internet satellites blasts off from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site in south China's Hainan Province, Dec. 26, 2025. The rocket successfully placed the payloads, the 17th group of low-orbit internet satellites, into preset orbit. (Photo by Liu Jianqiu/Xinhua)
Beijing, China: China today launched a Long March-8A rocket carrying a group of internet satellites into space.
The rocket lifted off from the Hainan launch site in southern China and successfully placed low-Earth-orbit internet satellites into their predetermined orbit.
The launch comes as part of China’s efforts to build a competing space-based internet network. It also represents a new mission for the Long March rocket series, which uses environmentally friendly fuel.
It is worth noting that China had launched a group of satellites on Dec. 7 aboard a Long March-8A rocket from the same province, with the payload successfully deployed into its planned orbit. That mission marked the first time the Long March-8A rocket series relied on coal-based rocket fuel instead of traditional kerosene.
