China launches 28th low-orbit internet satellite group on Long March-8A

China launched a Long March-8A carrier rocket from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site on October 25, carrying the 28th group of low-orbit internet satellites. Xinhua reported that the rocket lifted off at 10:03 a.m. Beijing time and that the payload entered its designated orbit. The report does not disclose how many satellites were in the group, their mass, or the identity of the constellation operator.

The mission marked the 674th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series, according to Xinhua. It was a launch count for the whole rocket family, not the 674th flight of the Long March-8A model. The satellite group was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology. The agency’s account identifies the flight and orbital outcome but provides no performance data from the payload after deployment.

The Long March-8A is designed for constellation launches into medium and low Earth orbits. An official China government report on its February 2025 maiden flight described the rocket series as supporting 3-tonne, 5-tonne and 7-tonne payload capacities for sun-synchronous orbits. The 7-tonne figure is a design capacity for that orbital class; it is not the mass carried on October 25, and the release does not specify the orbit altitude or inclination achieved by this mission.

The rocket builds on the Long March-8 configuration, using its first-stage core and boosters while adopting a newly developed universal hydrogen-oxygen upper stage. The government report said a multifunctional module combines satellite support, adapter and instrument functions, reducing structural weight by 200 kilograms and improving payload efficiency. Those are design features described for the vehicle, not measurements from this flight.

The verified result is limited to a successful launch and payload insertion into the designated orbit, as stated by Xinhua. Without payload counts or mission-specific orbit and service details, the 28th-group designation should not be read as a number of satellites or as proof that a network is operational.