China launched a Long March-12 carrier rocket from the Hainan commercial launch site at 18:21 Beijing time (10:21 UTC) on 4 August, successfully placing the seventh batch of low-Earth-orbit internet satellites into their planned orbit. The mission was the second flight of the two-stage, kerosene-oxygen Long March-12, which debuted in November 2024. Designed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, the vehicle can lift around 12 tonnes to low Earth orbit or 6 tonnes to a 700-kilometre sun-synchronous orbit. Monday’s launch marked the 587th mission in China’s Long March rocket series and the first commercial flight from Pad 2 at the new Hainan spaceport. All systems performed nominally, according to launch-site officials. The satellites were built by Beijing-based GalaxySpace using highly automated production lines intended to shorten manufacturing cycles. They will expand China’s planned broadband constellation, aimed at providing high-capacity internet coverage worldwide.