China ... launches rocket to carry multiple satellites

A new Chinese rocket designed to send up larger groups of satellites in a single launch took off on its maiden flight, 2025/2/11, boosting Beijing's strategy to counter US billionaire Elon Musk's increasingly assertive control of low Earth orbits through SpaceX.

The Long March 8A heavy-lift rocket blasted off on its maiden flight at 5:30 p.m. local time (0930 GMT) from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on China's southern island of Hainan, carrying a batch of low Earth orbit satellites.

The Long Marsh 8A rocket

The Long March 8A is a modified version of the Long March 8 medium-lift rocket that began flights in 2020.

The new rocket has a booster payload capacity of 7 tons, allowing China to send larger groups of satellites into low and medium Earth orbits in a single launch, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Group (CASC).

Other upgrades include an upper stage that saves fuel and extends the life of the satellites, according to CASC, which built the rocket and the satellites it sent into orbit.

The upper stage is a rocket booster that sits between the main launch vehicle and the main payload at the top.

China plans to increase the number of satellites it puts into low Earth orbit this year, with dozens of launches scheduled as Beijing looks to match Starlink’s satellite numbers.

Starlink, a subsidiary of Musk’s SpaceX, currently has nearly 7,000 active satellites in orbit.