China launches 18 satellites from Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site

The Wenchang Space Launch Center, the other spaceport in Hainan, is, like the three other such centers in China — Jiuquan, Taiyuan and Xichang — administered by the central government and primarily tasked with serving State programs such as lunar explorations and manned spaceflights.

After the launch, a total of 90 satellites have been launched for the Spacesail Constellation, previously known as the G60 network. The system is intended for providing high-speed, secure and reliable broadband internet services to users around the world, and is designed to consist of as many as more than 10,000 satellites travelling in low-altitude orbits before the end of 2030, according to Spacesail, the network's operator in Shanghai.

The first group of satellites in the network was launched in August 2024. The second group was deployed in October. The third batch was hauled into space in December. The fourth clutch was lifted in January this year. Each of the four groups consists of 18 identical satellites. All of them were carried by the Long March 6A model, a product of the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province.