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. (Photo by Liu Jianqiu/Xinhua)

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

The rocket lifted off at 7:26 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site. It successfully placed the payloads, the 17th group of low-orbit internet satellites, into preset orbit.