China Launches 24th Low-Orbit Internet Satellite Group From Hainan

China launched the 24th group of low-orbit internet satellites from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site in Wenchang on Sunday, August 16, 2026. The payload was carried by a Long March-12 rocket, which lifted off at 12:10 p.m. Beijing time and successfully placed the satellites into their preset orbit.

What China launched

The mission carried the 24th deployment group for China’s low-orbit internet satellite program. The group represents another step in the country’s effort to build an internet-satellite constellation in low Earth orbit.

The available reports identify the payload as a satellite group rather than providing a detailed breakdown of its individual spacecraft or technical specifications. A Space.com report separately described the mission as delivering a stack of internet-beaming satellites into low Earth orbit.

Which rocket carried the payload?

A Long March-12 carrier rocket launched the satellites from the commercial spacecraft launch site in Hainan. Reports from Xinhua and other outlets identify the vehicle as the Long March-12 and give the launch time as 12:10 p.m. local Beijing time.

When did the launch occur?

The launch took place on Sunday, August 16, 2026, at 12:10 p.m. Beijing time. The same moment corresponds to 12:10 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, or 04:10 GMT, according to Space.com’s conversion.

Why the 24th group matters

Its significance is primarily its place in the sequence: this was the 24th group launched for China’s low-orbit internet satellite program. It came only 12 days after the 23rd group, which launched from the same Hainan site aboard a Long March-8A rocket on August 4.

That short interval illustrates the program’s continuing deployment cadence, although the supplied reports do not specify the total number of satellites currently operating in the constellation or set out a long-term launch schedule. The 24th group should therefore be understood as the latest numbered deployment, not as a claim about the total size of the network.

Mission outcome

The mission was successful. The satellites entered their designated, or preset, orbit after launch, according to Xinhua and other reports.

The flight also returned China’s launch activity to the headlines less than a week after a Long March-7A rocket exploded during flight on August 10, according to Space.com. That context is separate from the satellite mission itself: the Long March-12 flight successfully completed its stated orbital-delivery objective.