China launches 18 satellites from Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site
Xinhua, March 12, 2025 Adjust font size:
A Long March-8 Y6 carrier rocket carrying 18 low Earth orbit satellites blasts off from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site in Wenchang, south China's Hainan Province, March 12, 2025.
A group of 18 low Earth orbit satellites was launched aboard the Long March-8 Y6 carrier rocket from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site in south China's Hainan Province in the early hours of Wednesday.
The satellites, the fifth group of its kind, have entered the preset orbit successfully, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). They will constitute China's commercial internet constellation Spacesail.
This mission marks the inaugural launch from the site's No. 1 launch pad, which, following the inaugural launch from the No. 2 pad on Nov. 30, 2024, signifies the dual-pad readiness of China's first commercial spaceport for future missions. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)