China launches 20th group of internet satellites from Hainan

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, Xinhua reported.

photo: QAZINFORM

The rocket lifted off at 3:48 a.m. Beijing Time (UTC+8) from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site. It successfully placed the payloads, the 20th group of low-orbit internet satellites, into preset orbit. 

Photo credit: Xinhua
Photo credit: Xinhua

As reported earlier, China targets real-time global coverage with a 1,000-satellite network.