WENCHANG, Hainan – China launched a Long March-8A carrier rocket from the southern island province of Hainan on Sunday, sending a batch of internet satellites into space.

The rocket lifted off at 10:03 am (Beijing Time) from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site. The payloads, the 28th group of low-orbit internet satellites, entered the designated orbit.

The satellites were developed by the China Academy of Space Technology.

The Long March-8A rocket is designed to meet the launch requirements of constellation networks in medium and low Earth orbits.

The launch marked the 674th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.