China launches two Long March rockets in less than 24 hours

China launched two Long March rockets on back-to-back days, sending internet and remote-sensing satellites into orbit. A Long March-8A launched the 26th group of low-Earth-orbit internet satellites from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site on Sept. 23, 2026, at 9:32 p.m. Beijing Time (9:32 a.m. EDT), marking the 669th mission of the Long March rocket series. The following day, Sept. 24, a modified Long March-6A launched the Yaogan-40 04 group from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 4:46 p.m. Beijing Time (4:46 a.m. EDT). The mission marked the 670th launch of the Long March series. Source: