HELSINKI — China launched a fourth group of satellites for its Guowang low Earth orbit megaconstellation Thursday, but released few details about the payload or objectives.

A Long March 6A rocket lifted off at 4:45 p.m. Eastern (2045 UTC) June 5 from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China. The exhaust from liftoff illuminated nearby hills and vegetation surrounding the spaceport around half an hour before local sunrise.

Distant amateur footage of the launch captured an apparent “jellyfish” effect, with the rocket plume expanding in the thin upper atmosphere and lit by the sun, which was still below the horizon to the onlookers.

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced the success of the launch more than an hour after liftoff. It noted that the “s

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