China launches 10th batch of internet satellites into orbit

China launched a group of internet satellites into orbit early Tuesday morning, marking the sixth in-orbit deployment of such spacecraft in a single month.

The satellites are the 10th group of low-orbit hardware in China's State-owned internet network. They were lifted by a Long March 8A carrier rocket at 3:08 am from the Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Center, a coastal spaceport in Wenchang city, and soon arrived in their orbital positions, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the mission contractor.

Over the past month, six batches of satellites have been sent into orbit for the in-orbit networking of the country's massive space-based internet system, often likened to the Chinese version of SpaceX's Starlink.

The fifth group in the network was launched on July 27, the sixth on July 30, the seventh on Aug 4, the eighth on Aug 13, and the ninth on Aug 17.

Upon completion, the Chinese mega-constellation will consist of about 13,000 satellites operating in low-Earth orbit to create an internet system with worldwide coverage.

The latest batch was designed and built by the China Academy of Space Technology, a CASC subsidiary, and is tasked with using its Ka-band transmitters to provide communications and internet service to users.

Developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, also a CASC subsidiary, the Long March 8A is 50.5 meters tall, has a liftoff weight of 371 metric tons and a liftoff thrust of about 480 tons.

The model is mainly tasked with deploying satellites to sun-synchronous orbits and is capable of transporting as much as 7 metric tons of payloads to a typical sun-synchronous orbit with an altitude of 700 kilometers.

Tuesday's launch mission was China's 50th rocket launch this year and also marked the 591st flight of the Long March rocket family, the backbone of the country's space transport fleet.