At 07:26 on December 26, China successfully launched the 17th group of low-orbit satellites for its satellite internet constellation from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site using the Long March-8A carrier rocket. The satellites have entered their predetermined orbit, marking the complete success of the mission.
The Long March-8A carrier rocket was developed and improved to meet the launch demands of future massive low- and medium-orbit satellite constellations for network deployment.
The GW Constellation is China's first massive satellite internet project and the country's pioneering initiative for an integrated space-air 6G internet network. It comprises two sub-constellations: GW-A59 and GW-A2, which together will form a global satellite internet network. In the future, the system is expected to enable direct satellite-to-mobile phone communication. The GW Constellation plans to launch a total of 12,992 satellites, with the GW-A59 sub-constellation consisting of 6,080 satellites deployed in extremely low orbits below 500 km, and the GW-A2 sub-constellation comprising 6,912 satellites in near-Earth orbits at approximately 1,145 km.