A Long March 8A carrier rocket lifted off from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site at 10:03 a.m. Beijing Time on Oct. 25, 2026, placing China’s 28th group of low-Earth-orbit internet satellites into their designated orbit. The mission continued the country’s accelerated satellite-internet deployment campaign.
The launch came 15 days after a Long March 12 deployed Group 27 on Oct. 10. Group 26 was launched aboard another Long March 8A on Sept. 23. Groups 23 through 28 were deployed from Hainan within 82 days using the Long March 8A and Long March 12, demonstrating how China is using multiple medium-lift vehicles to support a higher constellation deployment cadence.
CASC’s Commercial Launch Vehicle Group served as prime contractor for the Long March 8A, while the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, or CALT, was responsible for vehicle development.
The Long March 8A is a liquid-propellant launch vehicle with a two-and-a-half-stage configuration. It combines a 3.35-meter-diameter liquid-oxygen and kerosene core first stage with two liquid-propellant strap-on boosters. Its 3.35-meter-diameter upper stage uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, while a 5.2-meter-diameter payload fairing provides the volume required for larger multi-satellite stacks.
The rocket stands approximately 50.5 meters tall and has a liftoff mass of about 371 metric tons. Its published performance is approximately seven metric tons to a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit, although the insertion orbit and payload mass for Group 28 were not released. The combination of the enlarged fairing and upgraded hydrogen-oxygen upper stage was designed specifically for batch deployment missions to low and medium Earth orbit.
The Long March 8A rocket during vertical rollout
The Long March 8A completed its maiden flight on Feb. 11, 2025, carrying the second group of low-orbit satellite-internet spacecraft. The Oct. 25 mission was the vehicle’s 12th flight and 12th success, reflecting its rapid transition from development into recurring constellation launch operations.
The mission marked the 674th launch of the Long March rocket family.
The Long March 8A’s growing launch cadence reflects the broader expansion of China’s satellite manufacturing and deployment capacity. International customers planning a satellite mission, custom payload or AIT program can contact STARPATH GLOBAL to explore cost-competitive solutions from China, tailored to their technical requirements, schedule and budget.
