A Long March-12 carrier rocket carrying a group of internet satellites blasts off from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site in south China's Hainan Province, Aug. 4, 2025. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)

Wenchang, Hainan -- China launched a Long March-12 carrier rocket on Monday, sending a group of internet satellites into space. The rocket lifted off at 6:21 p.m. from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site in the southern island province of Hainan. It successfully placed the payloads, the seventh group of low-orbit internet satellites, into preset orbit. The launch marked the 587th mission of the Long March series carrier rockets, according to the launch site. It was also the second flight of the Long March-12 rocket. Developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, the Long March-12 made its maiden flight on Nov. 30, 2024. It is the backbone of China's commercial rockets, designed to carry no less than 12 tonnes in a low Earth orbit and no less than 6 tonnes in a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit. It is intended to enhance the country's space access capabilities and meet future satellite networking requirements.

A Long March-12 carrier rocket carrying a group of internet satellites blasts off from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site in south China's Hainan Province, Aug. 4, 2025. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)

The newly launched satellites were produced by GalaxySpace, a Beijing-based commercial space firm. In a news release, the company said that all of these satellites were manufactured at the company's smart factory, where production lines made extensive use of intelligent assembly robots and advanced software platforms, such as digital manufacturing systems and automated comprehensive testing systems, significantly reducing the development cycle.