China launches internet satellite group

A Long March-5B carrier rocket with a Yuanzheng-2 (Expedition-2) upper stage atop the rocket, carrying a group of low Earth orbit satellites, blasts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province, April 29, 2025. China successfully sent these satellites on Tuesday. The launch marked the 573rd mission of the Long March series carrier rockets. (Photo by Du Xinxin/Xinhua)

WENCHANG, Hainan, April 29 (Xinhua) -- China successfully sent a new group of low Earth orbit satellites from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in southern Hainan Province on Tuesday.

The satellite group, the third of its kind that will constitute an internet constellation, was launched at 4:10 a.m. (Beijing Time) aboard a Long March-5B carrier rocket with a Yuanzheng-2 (Expedition-2) upper stage atop the rocket. The satellites entered the preset orbit successfully.

The launch marked the 573rd mission of the Long March series carrier rockets.

A Long March-5B carrier rocket with a Yuanzheng-2 (Expedition-2) upper stage atop the rocket, carrying a group of low Earth orbit satellites, blasts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province, April 29, 2025. China successfully sent these satellites on Tuesday. The launch marked the 573rd mission of the Long March series carrier rockets. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)

A long-exposure photo shows a Long March-5B carrier rocket with a Yuanzheng-2 (Expedition-2) upper stage atop the rocket, carrying a group of low Earth orbit satellites, blasting off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province, April 29, 2025. China successfully sent these satellites on Tuesday. The launch marked the 573rd mission of the Long March series carrier rockets. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)

A long-exposure photo shows a Long March-5B carrier rocket with a Yuanzheng-2 (Expedition-2) upper stage atop the rocket, carrying a group of low Earth orbit satellites, blasting off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province, April 29, 2025. China successfully sent these satellites on Tuesday. The launch marked the 573rd mission of the Long March series carrier rockets. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)

A Long March-5B carrier rocket with a Yuanzheng-2 (Expedition-2) upper stage atop the rocket, carrying a group of low Earth orbit satellites, blasts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province, April 29, 2025. China successfully sent these satellites on Tuesday. The launch marked the 573rd mission of the Long March series carrier rockets. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)