Two Long March launches within three hours in China
Summary: According to China Daily and Xinhua, on Mar. 13, 2026, at 3:48 a.m. Beijing Time, a Long March-8A lifted off from the Hainan commercial launch site, deploying the 20th batch of low-orbit satellite internet satellites. At 6:33 a.m. Beijing Time the same morning, a Long March-2D launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in a two-satellite mission, placing Shiyan 30C and 30D (试验三十号 03、04) into planned orbits. The two flights were separated by roughly three hours. The image below is an illustrative Long March launch from Wikimedia Commons, not an official photo of these flights.
Caption: Licensed Wikimedia image for context only; see Xinhua/China Daily for mission photography.
Sources (original pages)
- China Daily: China launches Long March-8A Y1 rocket, deploys satellite group
- Xinhua (English): China launches Long March-8A Y1 rocket, deploys satellite group
- Xinhua (Chinese): 长征二号丁运载火箭成功发射试验三十号卫星03、04星
- Illustration (Wikimedia Commons, not this mission): File:Long March 3B launching Chinasat-9.jpg