China's Long March-8A rocket launches new internet satellites

A Long March-8A carrier rocket carrying the 20th group of low-orbit internet satellites blasts off from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site in south China's Hainan Province, March 13, 2026. China launched a Long March-8A carrier rocket on Friday in the southern island province of Hainan, sending a new group of internet satellites into space. The rocket lifted off at 3:48 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site. It successfully placed the payloads, the 20th group of low-orbit internet satellites, into preset orbit. (Photo by Liu Jianqiu/Xinhua)

WENCHANG, Hainan, March 13 (Xinhua) -- China launched a Long March-8A carrier rocket on Friday in the southern island province of Hainan, sending a new group of internet satellites into space.

The rocket lifted off at 3:48 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site. It successfully placed the payloads, the 20th group of low-orbit internet satellites, into preset orbit.

A Long March-8A carrier rocket carrying the 20th group of low-orbit internet satellites blasts off from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site in south China's Hainan Province, March 13, 2026. China launched a Long March-8A carrier rocket on Friday in the southern island province of Hainan, sending a new group of internet satellites into space. The rocket lifted off at 3:48 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site. It successfully placed the payloads, the 20th group of low-orbit internet satellites, into preset orbit. (Photo by Liu Jianqiu/Xinhua)

A Long March-8A carrier rocket carrying the 20th group of low-orbit internet satellites blasts off from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site in south China's Hainan Province, March 13, 2026. China launched a Long March-8A carrier rocket on Friday in the southern island province of Hainan, sending a new group of internet satellites into space. The rocket lifted off at 3:48 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site. It successfully placed the payloads, the 20th group of low-orbit internet satellites, into preset orbit. (Photo by Liu Jianqiu/Xinhua)