Operator of China and the world’s only space-based computing constellation, ADA Space (国星宇航), announced on July 18th that they have signed a deal with SenseTime (商汤科技)1, one of the nation’s leading artificial intelligence and computer vision firms, at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (2026世界人工智能大会)2.

According to ADA Space, its teams will work with SenseTime to establish an ‘orbit and Earth’ computing infrastructure using their proven capabilities through satellites currently in orbit. As part of the deal, SenseTime will receive dedicated spacecraft with ‘high-performance, autonomous, and controllable’ compute that have access to significant amounts of storage to allow for several artificial intelligence solutions to run in space simultaneously.

Without providing much detail, the two companies’ plans to have an initial small ‘SenseTime Space Computing Constellation (商汤太空算力星座)’ deployed by year’s end. That will then be followed by enough satellites for the ‘orbit and Earth’ infrastructure in 2028, and then up to 1,000 satellites in orbit by 2030.

The deal for the many satellites was signed by Yang Fan (杨帆), Co-Founder of SenseTime, and Tan Xinglin (谭兴林), ADA Space’s Executive Vice President. Xu Li (徐立), Chief Executive Officer of SenseTime, oversaw the signing alongside Lu Chuan (陆川), Founder and Chairman of ADA Space.

Through having their own computing satellites, SenseTime is exploring diversifying its compute hubs, with work commenced on a new data center in Hong Kong (香港) last month and opened another in 2022 in Shanghai (上海市) under a generative artificial intelligence push. Part of the rationale, according to Yang Fan, was shared as:

“In environments with weak network coverage, such as emergency disaster relief, ocean-going vessels, and wilderness operations, space-based computing power can effectively fill in the gaps in terrestrial coverage. Its value extends beyond breaking through capability boundaries; it also serves as the infrastructure that supports the global expansion of China’s AI capabilities and is poised to significantly increase the reach of domestically developed AI services overseas.”

If there are any problems with this translation please reach out and correct me.

Having compute in space also supports corporate sustainability aims, as the only linked pollution would come from spacecraft production, launch to orbit, and end-of-life decommissioning into Earth’s atmosphere.

With SenseTime looking to have up to 1,000 satellites, ADA Space’s own Three-Body Computing Constellation may have to slow its deployment of 2,800 satellites, which is used by multiple enterprise customers, like Alibaba Cloud (阿里云) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (上海交通大学). And as of recent weeks, a cohort of intelligent automotive vehicle entities, through a new agreement, for exploring and supporting improvements in that field.

This year, ADA Space has significantly expanded its partnerships through strategic signings with technology giant Tencent (腾讯) and the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau (上海市气象局), among others.

Efforts with the Three-Body Computing Constellation so far have seen ADA Space receive praise from the International Telecommunications Union at the AI For Good 2026 Summit. That was for empowering intelligent cities and their claimed open source solution-hosting platforms.

Representatives of commercial launch provider Galactic Energy attended a space industry forum hosted in Wuxi (无锡市), Jiangsu (江苏) province, on July 17th to share insights and discuss challenges with fellow space firms and government officials. Part of that involved a speech on opportunities with launch vehicles, which disclosed a brief update on partially reusable Pallas-1.

While hailing the successful recovery of the Long March 10B’s first-stage and highlighting Galactic Energy’s routine flights with Ceres-1, company Executive President Xia Dongkun (夏东坤) announced that Pallas-1 will make its first flight in ‘mid-to-late’ August, about three weeks from today. Previously, Galactic Energy has only hinted that the vehicle will fly ‘in the near future’.

In May, Pallas-1 was acknowledged to be at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center for testing with a dedicated launch pad, transporter-erector, commodity systems, and preparation in a horizontal integration building for final pre-flight tests. Those tests saw the 42-meter-tall launch vehicle moved upright for the first time after many months of production.

Last year, both stages of the launch vehicle completed static fires to prove flight-like burns and sequences. The second-stage with its single rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen-burning CQ-50 engine was tested first in September with a four-minute firing. Then in November, seven CQ-50’s ignited for the first-stage static fire to demonstrate their parallel operation.

As for first-stage booster recovery, no landing attempt will be performed during the debut flight due to the lack of relevant installed hardware. Galactic Energy has said that progress has been made on restartable CQ-50 engines, landing legs, and grid fins for use with future Pallas-1’s that are already in production and supposedly ready to ship out.

Amid preparations to fly the first Pallas-1, Galactic Energy has been securing new capital investment for a new funding round that should support further flights of the vehicle. This month has seen nine firms, some private and most government-linked, commit varied amounts in the high tens to hundreds of millions of Yuan. Cumulatively so far it is at least 400 million Yuan (59 million United States Dollars, as of July 22nd).

Last time Galactic Energy completed a funding round was September 2025, when it raised 2.4 billion Yuan (354.5 million United States Dollars) from a large cohort of municipal and provincial governments, among some private venture capital entities.

Attached below is a translated transcript of the newest episode:

The Shenzhou-23 crew has been in orbit for sixty days, and all scientific experiments aboard the space station are progressing smoothly. Let’s take a look at what the three taikonauts did last week.

The Shenzhou-23 crew utilized a space-based Raman spectrometer to conduct experiments on the relationship between gut microbiota and nutritional metabolism. By analyzing metabolic components in urine samples, they investigated changes in gut microbiota during long-duration spaceflight and the resulting impact on nutritional metabolism. In the footage, the taikonauts are using relevant equipment and experimental software to conduct precision-control tests, with the collected data intended for studying the patterns of change in fine motor control and the mechanisms of adaptive learning among taikonauts during long-duration orbital flight.

Using electroencephalography measurement equipment, the crew conducted several in-orbit electroencephalography tests, including brain-computer interface evaluations driven by brain network mapping. The test results will help to characterize the physiological mechanisms underlying changes in taikonauts’ cognitive performance during long-duration spaceflight.

In the field of space microgravity physical science, and in accordance with the experimental schedule, the crew replaced the internal burner of the gas experiment insert within the combustion science experiment cabinet and swapped out the experimental samples in the in-orbit maintenance device control cabinet. They also completed tasks such as clearing samples from the combustion cabinet's experiment chamber, maintaining the axial mechanism motor, and cleaned and replaced the window cover lenses.

Last week, on-orbit training for rendezvous and docking was conducted as planned. Using the on-orbit cognitive training system, the taikonauts completed exercises such as image recognition under varying visual conditions.

As part of their maintenance duties on board the space station complex, the crew inspected and maintained the equipment of the regenerative life support system, replaced some components, installed, adjusted, and maintained the partition door in the core module’s sleeping area4, and tidied up the interior of the module.

In terms of health management, the crew completed routine medical examinations and daily cardiac function tests, continued to conduct in-orbit health monitoring using a traditional Chinese medicine diagnostic instrument, and maintained a regular exercise regimen while using equipment such as a bone loss countermeasure device5 to actively counteract the physiological effects of microgravity.

As the busy on-orbit schedule continues, what tasks remain on the Shenzhou-23 crew's to-do list? Tune in next week.

If there are any problems with this translation please reach out and correct me.

Tiangong TV Episode July 26th 2026 produced by the China Manned Space Agency, cloned to YouTube for viewing on the Western internet and archival.

Eighteen months ago, the second phase of the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site began to the south-west of existing facilities. That phase has seen the fast construction of the multi-user Commercial Launch Pads 3 and 4, able to host launch vehicles that are at least 3.35 meters in diameter.

Those two launch pads have, according to an announcement by site operator Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Co Ltd (海南国际商业航天发射有限公司), had all necessary construction work completed this month. Overall work on the pad is not quite done yet, with launch support equipment and commodity systems yet to be fully installed.

A shared water storage tower for both pads’ deluge systems, which began to rise in February, is among items that are still being completed, although in its late stages of outfitting. Six lightning diversion towers, three for each pad, are already topped and have been since mid-June, but with lights for night launches to be added.

All work is set to be completed in the coming weeks, which was disclosed at a work ceremony for site personnel, at which company Chairman Yang Tianliang (杨天梁) said:

“By the end of this year we will have four medium and large-scale operational launch locations. This scale, the largest in the country, represents a tremendous achievement for us, as well as a significant challenge. With the current global expansion of the commercial space industry, demand for launches is on the rise. Under these circumstances, as we fine-tune our facilities and equipment to optimal performance and ensure our team is at its peak capability, we are faced with new challenges in organizational structure and personnel allocation. We must thoroughly analyze these issues in advance to ensure we can successfully complete this year’s first launch1 and use it to drive further progress.”

If there are any problems with this translation please reach out and correct me.

As for when that first launch from the new launch pads may take place, it is expected to be sometime in the fourth quarter (October, November, December), towards the end of the year. The launch vehicle that could perform that flight might be the Long March 10B, using a recovered first-stage booster.

Once Commercial Launch Pad 3 and 4 have been proven by at least one flight from each, the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site will be able to host up to sixty launch missions per year, a majority for the Long March 8 series. Part of what will drive that many launches is a reduced need to adapt multi-user pads to support different diameter vehicle’s dedicated-transporter-erectors2 and different propellants.

Relatedly, following the Long March 10B’s debut flight, teams descended on Commercial Launch Pad 2 to first perform post-flight inspections and then to close off the liquid methane systems, additional water deluge outlets, and remove extra pistons used to move the vehicle to its horizontal launch position. Doing that allows the pad to support further Long March 12 missions in the near future.

When eliminating the need to adapt multi-user pads between different launch vehicle diameters and propellants, Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Co Ltd theorizes that Commercial Launch Pad 2, 3, and 4 will be able to each support three launch missions a month. The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology may agree with that thinking, as it is said to be pursuing priority access to at least one launch pad.

While second phase work is being completed, a delegation from the Hainan (海南) province branch of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (国务院国有资产监督管理委员会) led by Deputy Director Shen Qi (申琦) explored the new launch pads to inspect their safety systems and overall protocals for the commerical launch site. After the visit, site leadership said that they have and will continue to meet safety standards as an example for other enterprises in the province and space sector.

Off of Launch Area 130 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, CAS Space’s Kinetica-1 blasted off at 07:33 am China Standard Time on July 24th (23:33 pm Universal Coordinated Time on July 23rd) to bring a handful of customer satellites into sun-synchronous orbit.

The customer of note for the launch was Orbital Chenguang (轨道辰光) with its Chenguang-1 (辰光一号卫星)1 spacecraft that will be used to demonstrate thermal dissipation and electrical power management systems needed for space-based data centers. As part of the demonstration, artificial intelligence (AI) solutions are onboard to process remote sensing data captured by installed instruments. The spacecraft is the first in a methodical plan to prove the system ahead of deployment of gigawatt-class compute centers, which is backed by tens of billions of Yuan.2

An AI utilizing satellite delivered is the Gande-1-01 (甘德一号01星) space debris monitoring satellite from Liangxi Space Technology Group (梁溪空天科技集团) and Aotian Technology Beijing Co Ltd (遨天科技(北京)有限公司). To monitor orbits around it, Gande-1-01 has a wide-field and precision tracking camera that will pick human-made objects out from stars by processing them through its onboard AI model. The satellite is the first of a constellation to demonstrate relevant systems, with later satellites working in tandem for tracking and emergency alerts.

Alongside them is the 200-kilogram ‘Fuxi Meteorological Satellite (伏羲气象卫星)’, also designated Xiguang-2-03 (西光贰号03星), from Xinghuo Chuanming Beijing Technology Co Ltd (星火传明(北京)技术有限公司), able to perform infrared remote sensing tasks at resolutions between 1.28, 5, and 12.5 meters while processing data locally through onboard AI systems, beaming resuslts back at up to 100 gigabits per second via an optical laser link. It is also the first of up to two hundred and thirty such satellites to be proliferated by variants weighing as little as 8 kilograms.

From Zhejiang Lab (之江实验室), of the leading Three-Body Computing Constellation, was a technology development satellite designated Jitian-A-04 (吉天星A-04星) or Yunjian Muxi (云尖沐曦号). All satellite systems are stated to be equipped with relevant AI models to manage its health, systems planning, and requested tasks. Part of the requested tasks will be to trial new compute capabilities powered by GPUs from MetaX Integrated Circuits Shanghai Co Ltd (沐曦集成电路(上海)有限公司) ahead of their operational use on-orbit.

Finally, there is Yinglong Fengguang-1 (应龙风光一号卫星) built by Shanghai Xuntian Qianhe Space Technology (上海巡天千河空间技术有限公司) on behalf of Jiangsu Yinglong Satellite Technology (江苏应龙卫星科技有限公司), tasked with weather forecasting, early disaster warning, and environmental monitoring. That is to be done via a microwave temperature and humidity sounder alongside infrared cameras.

In support of future missions with Kinetica-1, CAS Space’s factory in Guangzhou (广州), Guangdong (广东) province, is accelerating production of the launch vehicle. The hardware used today passed its acceptance review, allowing it to be sent to Jiuquan, just two days after the vehicle’s previous flight on June 15th, and following its departure by under a month.

Should flight hardware be available at Jiuquan, CAS Space believes its teams can support a monthly mission cadence. That has been demonstrated this year with missions in April, May, the aforementioned June mission, and now today’s.

Today’s launch was the 15th launch for Kinetica-1, and the 16th for CAS Space through its Kinetica family of launch vehicles. This was also the 51st launch from China in 2026.

Liftoff video via 大漠问天 on WeChat.

Launch livestream via ThatSpaceDogeGuy on YouTube.

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Check out the previous Kinetica-1 launch

What is Kinetica-1?

This section is for those less familiar with China’s various commercial launch vehicles.

Kinetica-1 is CAS Space’s first launch vehicle and consists of four stages, all burning solid fuel. CAS Space offers the ability to launch a single satellite to utilize all of the rocket’s payload capacity, however more ‘rideshare’ missions occur for multiple satellites to be delivered in one launch.

The payload capacity of the launch vehicle is currently as follows:

• 2,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit

• 1,500 kilograms to a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit

The first-stage is powered by a solid rocket booster that burns an unspecified solid fuel, generating 200 tons of thrust. The second-stage is also powered by a solid rocket booster, producing 110 tons of thrust with the same unidentified propellant. The-third stage, also using the undisclosed propellant, generates 45 tons of thrust. Finally, the fourth-stage is powered by another solid rocket booster, providing 8 tons of thrust with the same solid propellant.

On its launch pad, Kinetica-1 stands at 30 meters tall. The first two stages have a diameter of 2.65 meters, the fairing has a diameter of either 2.65 or 3.35 meters. When prepared for launch Kinetica-1 weighs a believed 135,000 kilograms.

So far, Kinetica-1 has flown all of its missions from CAS Space’s launch facility at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

This page will be continuously updated as China launches satellites for the Qianfan, GuoWang, Honghu-3, Geely Future Mobility, Tianqi, and Three-Body Computing constellations. These six constellations are expected to have a combined satellite count of 50,730 once fully deployed.

I will share when this page is updated on my Twitter (officially “X”) and Bluesky account, where you can also pester me to update it. You can jump to each constellation with the following hyperlinks:

• Qianfan

  • Qianfan Test Satellites

• GuoWang

  • GuoWang GEO Segment

  • GuoWang Test Satellites

• Honghu-3

• Geely Future Mobility Constellation

• Tianqi

• Three-Body Computing Constellation

Qianfan

The Qianfan (千帆) mega-constellation, formerly called G60 Starlink, is operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies Co Ltd (上海垣信卫星科技有限公司), which is partly backed by the municipal government of Shanghai. Qianfan literally means ‘Thousand Sails’ in English, which is why some media refer to it as such.

This constellation may have up to 15,000 satellites in orbit by 2030. As of December 2025, the deployment aims of the constellation should have 324 satellites launched in 2026, 324 in 2027, and 4,000 in 2028 and 2029, followed by 5,000 in 2030.

Each first-generation Qianfan satellite weighs 267 kilograms and can utilize 100 gigabits of intersatellite throughput to provide 20 megabits in download speed and 5 megabits of upload speed for a cell phone. For maneuvering in orbit, each satellite has an electric hall-effect thruster burning krypton to generate 20 millinewtons of thrust, with a specific impulse of 1,385 seconds.

Future second-generation satellites will weigh between 400 and 500 kilograms, while third-generation satellites will be around 1,500 kilograms. Second-generation satellites will provide maritime services along with the constellations’ terrestrial services, and third-generation satellites will improve overall services.

So far, 238 satellites have been launched for this constellation. A visualization of active satellites in orbit is available here.

2024

August 6th - 1st Qianfan Group (18 satellites)

On August 6th the first batch of satellites for Qianfan was sent into a polar orbit atop of a Long March 6A. This launch occurred from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.

After launch 18 satellites were deployed from the Long March 6A Y21’s second-stage, at an altitude of approximately 800 kilometers.

October 15th - 2nd Qianfan Group (18 satellites)

A little over two months later, the second batch of Qianfan satellites were sent into polar orbit atop of a Long March 6A, also from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.

Following launch 18 satellites were deployed from the Long March 6A Y20’s second-stage, likely at a similar altitude to the first batch.

December 5th - 3rd Qianfan Group (18 satellites)

Following another two-month gap, the third batch of Qianfan satellites were delivered to polar orbit atop of a Long March 6A, once again flying from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.

After launch 18 satellites were deployed from the Long March 6A Y22’s second-stage.

2025

January 23rd - 4th Qianfan Group (18 satellites)

Qianfan began deployment in 2025 with its fourth batch, officially group six, being sent to polar orbit by a Long March 6A, flying from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.

After launch 18 satellites were released from the Long March 6A Y6’s second-stage.

March 11th - 5th Qianfan Group (18 satellites)

For its first mission atop of the Long March 8, Qianfan’s second launch of 2025 saw the deployment of group five, for the fifth batch of satellites. With the mission flying from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site.

After launch 18 satellites were released from the Long March 8' Y6’s second-stage.

October 17th - 6th Qianfan Group (18 satellites)

Following a seven-month pause, Qianfan’s Polar Group 18 was launched atop a Long March 6A from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, placing eighteen satellites into orbit. This was the constellation’s sixth launch.

2026

April 7th - 7th Qianfan Group (18 satellites)

Off of Commercial Launch Pad 1 at the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site, Qianfan’s seventh overall group of satellites was deployed into a near-polar orbit by a Long March 8, with eighteen satellites onboard.

May 12th - 8th Qianfan Group (18 satellites)

From the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, a Long March 6A delivered Qianfan’s Polar Group 09 into a near-polar orbit, with eighteen satellites released. This was the constellation’s eighth group overall.

May 17th - 9th Qianfan Group (18 satellites)

A Long March 8 departed from Commercial Launch Pad 1 at the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site to deliver Qianfan’s ninth overall group into sun-synchronous orbit, with eighteen satellites being released.

June 1st - 10th Qianfan Group (2 satellites)

The first Long March 12B carried the tenth overall group of Qianfan satellites, deploying two, for the constellation’s first launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center into a polar orbit.

June 4th - 11th Qianfan Group (18 satellites)

Eighteen more Qianfan satellites were added to polar orbit, with the launch of its eleventh overall group via a Long March 6A from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.

June 5th - 12th Qianfan Group (18 satellites)

Another Long March 8 flew from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site to bring eighteen Qianfan satellites into polar orbit, for its twelfth overall group. Some maritime support services were said to have been enabled after deployment.

July 4th - 13th Qianfan Group (18 satellites)

Out of the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, a Long March 6A added eighteen more Qianfan satellites into a near-polar orbit, for its thirteenth launch to date.

July 5th - 14th Qianfan Group (20 satellites)

A much upgraded Long March 8A flew from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site to bring twenty more Qianfan satellites, for the fourteenth group to date, into a polar orbit.

Qianfan Test Satellites

Prior to the beginning of deployments in 2024, Shanghai Spacesail Technologies Co Ltd had a few test satellites launched through its backing of German enterprise KLEO connect. Others have been launched after the start of main deployments.

So far, 3 test satellites have been launched.

2019

November 17th - KL-Alpha Duo

Via ExPace’s Kuaizhou-1A out of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, two test satellites dubbed KL-Alpha-A and KL-Alpha-B were placed into low Earth orbit for testing Ka-band coordination. The duo had their manufacturing contracted to the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites, Chinese Academy of Sciences (中国科学院微小卫星创新研究院).

2021

August 4th - KL-Beta Duo

Two more test satellites, called KL-Beta-A and KL-Beta-B, were delivered to low Earth orbit by a Long March 6 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center for testing laser-interconnect coordination as well as electric propulsion. Their manufacturing was also contracted to the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites, Chinese Academy of Sciences (中国科学院微小卫星创新研究院).

2026

June 9th - Qianfan Direct-To-Cell-01 Satellite

LandSpace’s Zhuque-2E carried the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites, Chinese Academy of Sciences (中国科学院微小卫星创新研究院) made ‘Qianfan Direct-To-Cell-01 Satellite (千帆DTC01星)’ into low Earth orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The satellite will demonstrate systems and services needed for providing connectivity to handheld mobile devices.

GuoWang

The GuoWang (国网)1 mega-constellation, commonly called Weixing Hulianwang Digui (卫星互联网低轨)2 by Chinese-language media and sometimes known as Xingwang (星网)3, is operated by China Satellite Network Group (中国卫星网络集团有限公司), and is backed by the Chinese government.

This constellation may have up to 13,000 satellites in orbit once fully deployed. As of December 2025, the deployment aims of the constellation should have 310 satellites launched in 2026, 900 in 2027, and 3,600 in 2028, 2029, and 2030.

So far, 177 satellites have been launched for this constellation. A visualization of active satellites in orbit is available here.

2024

December 16th - GuoWang Group 01 (10 satellites)

The first group of GuoWang satellites entered a polar orbit on December 16th after being launched on a Long March 5B, with a Yuanzheng-2 upper-stage, from the Wenchang Space Launch Site.

After maneuvers with the Yuangzheng-2 upper-stage, the 10 satellites were tracked in a roughly 1,090-kilometer by 1,110-kilometer orbit.

2025

February 11th - GuoWang Group 02 (9 satellites)

A second group of GuoWang satellites was delivered into low Earth orbit by the first Long March 8A, from the Wenchang Space Launch Site. This launch had nine satellites were onboard, which were deployed into a roughly 871 by 860 kilometer orbit.

April 29th - GuoWang Group 03 (10 satellites)

The third group of satellites for GuoWang were delivered to a polar orbit on April 29th via a Long March 5B with a Yuanzheng-2 upper-stage. This launch had ten satellites deployed once in orbit.

June 6th - GuoWang Group 04 (5 satellites)

A Long March 6A launched the fourth group of GuoWang satellites to polar orbit from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, becoming the first time GuoWang satellites were delivered to orbit from the site. Five satellites are believed to have been onboard.

July 27th - GuoWang Group 05 (5 satellites)

The fifth batch of GuoWang satellites were sent to polar orbit atop of a Long March 6A, flying from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. Five satellites are believed to have been onboard.

July 30th - GuoWang Group 06 (9 satellites)

A Long March 8A delivered the sixth group of GuoWang satellites to low Earth orbit, flying out of the Wenchang Space Launch Site. Nine satellites were believed to have been onboard.

August 4th - GuoWang Group 07 (9 satellites)

The seventh batch of GuoWang satellites headed to low Earth orbit atop of a Long March 12. Another nine satellites were believed to have been onboard.

August 13th - GuoWang Group 08 (10 satellites)

Ten more GuoWang satellites, for the constellation’s eighth batch, headed to a polar orbit atop of a Long March 5B flying out of the Wenchang Space Launch Site, with a Yuanzheng-2 upper-stage bringing the satellites toward their intended orbit.

August 17th - GuoWang Group 09 (5 satellites)

Via a Long March 6A from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, five satellites were sent into orbit for GuoWang’s ninth group.

August 25th - GuoWang Group 10 (9 satellites)

GuoWang’s tenth batch of satellites, likely with nine onboard, was delivered to low Earth orbit by a Long March 8A flying out of the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site.

September 27th - GuoWang Group 11 (5 satellites)

Through another Long March 6A launch from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, five more satellites for the GuoWang constellation were delivered to low Earth orbit.

October 16th - GuoWang Group 12 (9 satellites)

A Long March 8A delivered nine satellites for the GuoWang constellation into low Earth orbit from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site for the twelfth group overall.

November 10th - GuoWang Group 13 (9 satellites)

Via a Long March 12 flying out of the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site, nine satellites for GuoWang were sent into low Earth orbit for the thirteenth group overall.

December 6th - GuoWang Group 14 (9 satellites)

A Long March 8A carried nine satellites for GuoWang into low Earth orbit from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site for the fourteenth group overall.

December 8th - GuoWang Group 15 (5 satellites)

Five GuoWang spacecraft were added to the mega-constellation via a Long March 6A mission to polar orbit from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.

December 12th - GuoWang Group 16 (9 satellites)

GuoWang’s sixteenth group of satellites, nine onboard, was delivered to low Earth orbit by a Long March 12 launching from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site.

December 26th - GuoWang Group 17 (9 satellites)

For GuoWang’s last launch of 2025, the seventeenth group of satellites were launched atop of a Long March 8A from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site.

2026

January 13th - GuoWang Group 18 (9 satellites)

Starting GuoWang deployments in 2026, a Long March 8A flew from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site while carrying nine satellites for the constellation’s eighteenth group.

January 19th - GuoWang Group 19 (9 satellites)

A Long March 12 supported the deployment of GuoWang’s nineteenth group, with nine satellites being placed into low Earth orbit following a mission from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site.

March 12th - GuoWang Group 20 (9 satellites)

Out of the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site, a Long March 8A carried nine GuoWang satellites into low Earth orbit as part of the mega-constellation’s twentieth group.

April 9th - GuoWang Group 21 (5 satellites)

From the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, another five GuoWang spacecraft were placed into orbit by a Long March 6A for the twenty-first deployment of the mega-constellation.

June 17th - GuoWang Group 22 (9 satellites)

The Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site saw another nine GuoWang satellites added to low Earth orbit for its twenty-second deployment, via a Long March 12.

GuoWang GEO Segment

While not explicitly part of the low Earth orbit constellation (and not counted in the total count), GuoWang is believed to be receiving support from a few satellites, dubbed WHG or Weixing Hulianwang Gaogui (卫星互联网高轨), also known as internet high-orbit satellite in English, in geostationary space to bridge gaps in coverage or provide low-bandwidth coverage in select areas. Based on the satellite platform, likely the China Academy of Space Technology’s Dongfanghong-4, up to 200 Gigabits per second of throughput could be available.

Currently, 3 satellites make up the geostationary support segment, being placed at: 33.6 degrees East over central Africa, 77.2 degrees West over northern South America, and 153.2 degrees East just above Papua New Guinea.

2024

February 29th - WHG-01 (33.6 degrees East)

The first WHG satellite was delivered to a geostationary transfer orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center by a Long March 3B/E on February 29th.

August 1st - WHG-02 (77.2 degrees West)

A second WHG satellite was launched into a geostationary transfer orbit by a Long March 3B/E rocket a few months later, on August 1st from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

October 10th - WHG-03 (153.2 degrees East)

The third WHG-designated satellite blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on October 10th atop of a Long March 3B/E heading for a geostationary transfer orbit.

GuoWang Test Satellites

While yet to be officially stated as test satellites for the GuoWang constellation (also not counted in the total count), over a dozen have been launched under a similar designation and with the same spacecraft developers as GuoWang. Test satellite designations have been designated Digui Tongxin Weixing (低轨通信卫星), Low-orbit Communication Satellites in English, and Weixing Hulianwang Jishu Shiyan (卫星互联网技术试验卫星), literally Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellite.

So far, 33 test satellites appear to have been launched.

2021

August 24th - Low-orbit Communication Satellites 01, 02, 03

From the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Three Low-orbit communication Satellites were sent into low Earth orbit on a Long March 2C with a Yuanzheng-1S upper-stage on August 24th to begin trialing constellation services and technologies.

2022

May 20th - Low-orbit Communication Satellites 04, 05, 06

Another three Low-orbit Communication Satellites were launched by a Long March 2C with a Yuanzheng-1S upper-stage on May 20th from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to further constellation technology and service trials.

2023

July 9th - Two Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellites

A Long March 2C with a Yuanzheng-1S upper-stage flew from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center carrying two Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellites into low Earth orbit on July 9th.

November 23rd - Three Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellites

Three Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellites were launched on November 23rd from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center via a Long March 2D with a Yaunzheng-3 upper-stage heading into low Earth orbit.

December 5th - One Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellite

A single Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellite was sent into polar orbit by a Jielong-3 off of a floating platform near Yangjiang (阳江市), Guangdong Province (广东), on December 5th.

December 30th - Three Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellites

A Long March 2C with a Yuanzheng-1S upper-stage flew from the Jiuqan Satellite Launch Center on December 30th, carrying three Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellites into low Earth orbit.

2024

November 30th - One Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellite

The debut flight of the Long March 12 on November 30th delivered one Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellite into low Earth orbit from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site.

2025

April 1st - Four Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellites

On April 1st, a Long March 2D carried four Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellites into low Earth orbit on April 1st from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

September 16th - Four Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellites

Another four Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellites were launched on a Long March 2C with a Yuanzheng-1S upper-stage on September 16th from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

2026

April 11th - One Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellite

A Jielong-3 flying from the South China Sea, delivered a single Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellite into sun-synchronous orbit on April 11th.

April 24th - Four Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellites

Four Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellites were placed into low Earth orbit by a Long March 2D flying from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on April 24th.

May 31st - Four Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellites

Another four Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellites were delivered to low Earth orbit by a Long March 2D flying from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the early hours of May 31st.

Honghu-3

The Honghu-3 (鸿鹄-3) mega-constellation is a joint venture between LandSpace, a launch company, and Hongqing Technology, a satellite manufacturer. LandSpace holds a 48% stake in Hongqing Technology. This constellation may have up to 10,000 satellites in orbit once fully deployed.

Pending first launch.

Geely Future Mobility Constellation

The Geely Future Mobility Constellation is backed by Chinese automaker Geely, doing business as Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (浙江吉利控股集团有限公司), with its wholly-owned subsidiary Geespace developing spacecraft and managing the constellation. This constellation will provide communication, connectivity, and positioning services. Once phases two and three of satellite deployment is completed, services will be expanded to include connectivity to mobile phones and satellite internet.

Geespace plans to deploy the mega-constellation in three phases. Phase one (2022-2025) will have 72 satellites sent into orbit, phase two will add an additional 264 satellites, and phase three will add another 5,676 satellites. In total, 6,012 satellites are planned to be deployed.

So far, 64 satellites have been launched for this constellation.

2022

June 2nd - Future Mobility Group 01 (9 satellites)

June 2nd 2022 had the first group of the Geely Future Mobility satellites enter orbit after a launch atop of a Long March 2C launching from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. This is believed to have made Geespace China’s first privately owned developer, operator, and mass producer of low-orbit commercial satellites.

After launch 9 satellites were deployed.

2024

February 3rd - Future Mobility Group 02 (11 satellites)

The second group of Geely Future Mobility satellites entered orbit on February 3rd 2024 after launching atop a Long March 2C from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, like the previous launch.

After launch 11 satellites were deployed.

September 6th - Future Mobility Group 03 (10 satellites)

The third group of satellites for the Geely Future Mobility Constellation was launched atop of a Long March 6 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. This was the first time a group for the constellation was launched aboard a non-hypergolic fuelled launch vehicle.

After launch 10 satellites were deployed from the Long March 6 Y11’s third-stage.

2025

August 8th - Future Mobility Group 04 (11 satellites)

Off the coast of Rizhao, in Shandong province, a Jielong-3 carried 11 satellites into low Earth orbit for the Geely Future Mobility Constellation. This was the first time the constellation was expanded via a sea launch.

September 8th - Future Mobility Group 05 (11 satellites)

Atop another Jielong-3, 11 satellites were sent to low Earth orbit near Rizhao. This was the second of three back-to-back-to-back sea launches for the constellation.

September 24th - Future Mobility Group 06 (12 satellites)

Geespace’s largest group of satellites, 12 onboard, were launched by yet another Jielong-3 from a sea-launch platform near Rizhao for the third mission in a series of back-to-back-to-back deployments.

Tianqi

Tianqi (天启) is an Internet-of-Things constellation from commercial space company Guodian Gaoke (国电高科). To date, the constellation services have been used by a handful of enterprises for forestry, agriculture, aquaculture, petroleum, emergency response, ecological environment conservation, and smart city development in any weather at any time.

Guodian Gaoke started deploying the constellation with many 50-kilogram satellites via many smaller launch vehicles. Over the coming years, 1,132 satellites of roughly 360 kilograms will be launched to provide mobile direct-to-device services.

So far, 41 satellites have been launched for this constellation.

2018

October 29th - Tianqi-1 (1 satellite)

The first Tianqi satellite was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center atop of a Long March 2C and as a secondary payload.

2019

June 5th - Tianqi-3 (1 satellite)

The next Tianqi satellite sent into orbit was Tianqi-3 which was launched from the Yellow Sea atop of a Long March 11.

August 17th - Tianqi-2 (1 satellite)

Tianqi-2 was the third satellite launched and was sent into orbit during the maiden launch of Jielong-1 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

December 7th - Tianqi-4A & Tianqi 4B (2 satellites)

Two Tianqi satellites were launched atop of a Kuaizhou-1A from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. These satellites were Tianqi-4A and 4B.

2020

January 15th - Tianqi-5 (1 satellite)

Tianqi-5 was launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center by a Long March 2D as part of a multi-customer rideshare.

July 25th - Tianqi-10 (1 satellite)

A Long March 4B launching from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center carried Tianqi-10 into orbit as one of three payloads.

October 26th - Tianqi-6 (1 satellite)

A Long March 2C carried Tianqi-6 as a secondary payload during a launch from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

November 7th - Tianqi-11 (1 satellite)

Tianqi-11 was the sole satellite aboard the maiden launch of Ceres-1 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

December 22nd - Tianqi-8 (1 satellite)

Tianqi-8 was launched atop of a Long March 8 from the Wenchang Space Launch Site as part of the vehicles maiden flight.

2021

April 27th - Tianqi-9 (1 satellite)

A Long March 6 carried Tianqi-9 as part of a multi-customer rideshare mission from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.

May 6th - Tianqi-12 (1 satellite)

Tianqi-12 was a secondary payload during the launch of a Long March 2C from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

June 18th - Tianqi-14 (1 satellite)

Tianqi-14 was launched as a secondary payload atop of a Long March 2C during a launch from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

July 19th - Tianqi-15 (1 satellite)

Tianqi-15 was also launched as a secondary payload atop a Long March 2C during a launch from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, a month after the last launch.

2022

February 27th - Tianqi-19 (1 satellite)

Tianqi-19 was launched atop of a Long March 8 during a multi-customer rideshare mission from the Wenchang Space Launch Site. This satellite was also the first of the second generation of Tianqi spacecraft.

December 9th - Tianqi-7 (1 satellite)

A Jielong-3 launched Tianqi-7 into orbit as part of a multi-customer rideshare launch from the Yellow Sea.

2023

January 9th - Tianqi-13 (1 satellite)

A Ceres-1 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center carried Tianqi-13 satellite into orbit at the beginning of 2023.

September 5th - Tianqi-21, 22, 23, & 24 (4 satellites)

Four Tianqi satellites were launched atop of a Ceres-1S from the Yellow Sea. These satellites were Tianqi-21, Tianqi-22, Tianqi-23, and Tianqi-24.

2024

May 29th - Tianqi-25, 26, 27, & 28 (4 satellites)

Another Ceres-1S carried another four Tianqi satellites into orbit from the Yellow Sea. These satellites were Tianqi-25, Tianqi-26, Tianqi-27, and Tianqi-28.

September 20th - Tianqi-29, 30, 31, & 32 (4 satellites)

Another four Tianqi satellites were launched, these satellites were carried into orbit by a Kuaizhou-1A from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. These satellites were Tianqi-29, Tianqi-30, Tianqi-31, and Tianqi-32.

December 19th - Tianqi-33, 34, 35, & 36 (4 satellites)

A Ceres-1S launched four Tianqi satellites into orbit from the Yellow Sea near the city of Rizhao. These satellites were Tianqi-33, Tianqi-34, Tianqi-35, and Tianqi-36, released into an 850-kilometer 45-degree inclination low Earth orbit.

2025

May 19th - Tianqi-16, 17, 19, & 20 (4 satellites)

Another Ceres-1S delivered four more Tianqi satellites to a 850-kilometer 45-degree inclination low Earth orbit from the coast of Rizhao in the Yellow Sea. The satellites being launched were Tianqi-16, Tianqi-17, Tianqi-19, and Tianqi-20.

2026

January 15th - Tianqi-37, 38, 39, & 40 (4 satellites)

Several months after the previous deployment, a Ceres-1S carried four Tianqi satellites into an 850-kilometer 45-degree inclination low Earth orbit from the coast of Rizhao. These satellites were designated Tianqi-37, Tianqi-38, Tianqi-39, and Tianqi-40.

Three-Body Computing Constellation

The Three-Body Computing Constellation is a computing constellation that aims to integrate space and ground computing into a single AI-enabled infrastructure, allowing for the processing of satellite data in space. ADA Space, also known as Chengdu Guoxing Aerospace Technology Co Ltd (成都国星航天科技有限公司) and shortened to Guoxing Aerospace, and Zhejiang Lab (之江实验室) are developing the constellation.

Up to 2,800 satellites are planned to be part of the constellation. To launch that many satellites, the constellation’s developers are utilizing two different designs. One satellite design, called ‘type one’, is stackable, allowing numerous spacecraft of the same design to be placed on top of each other. The other design, dubbed ‘type two’, is a more conventional CubeSat, allowing it to be a secondary payload for other missions with extra payload capacity left.

So far, 12 satellites have been launched for this constellation.

2025

May 15th - Computing Group 01 (12 satellites)

A Long March 2D blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center carrying the first 12 satellites for the Three-Body Computing Constellation into orbit. Two ‘type one’ and ten ‘type two’ satellites were onboard for the launch.

Three-Body Test Satellites

For improvements to the constellation and its systems, ADA Space and Zhejiang Lab have launched testing satellites to prove new hardware ahead of their incorporation on the main constellation. Those tests can involve one or both of the enterprises behind the constellation.

So far, 1 test satellites appear to have been launched.

2026

July 16th - Jitian-A-04

Zhejiang Lab launched a technology testing satellite, designated Jitian-A-04 (吉天星A-04星), via Kinetica-1 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to prove new GPUs from MetaX Integrated Circuits Shanghai Co Ltd (沐曦集成电路(上海)有限公司) ahead of their operational use on-orbit.

What is a mega-constellation?

A mega-constellation of satellites has no firm definition but is normally comprised of thousands of satellites when referred to in media. No solid number is stated for the beginning of mega-constellations. For the purposes of this article, I believe a mega-constellation is any satellite network boasting over 1,000 spacecraft.

Satellite constellations are typically defined as:

“A satellite constellation is a group of artificial satellites working together as a system. Unlike a single satellite, a constellation can provide permanent global or near-global coverage, such that at any time everywhere on Earth at least one satellite is visible. Satellites are typically placed in sets of complementary orbital planes and connect to globally distributed ground stations. They may also use inter-satellite communication.”
- Wikipedia’s Satellite constellation page on September 27th 2024.

Article Updates

This section is a list of when this article was updated. The date published will also be moved forward with each update.

August 10th 2024: Article released.

September 27th 2024: Added Geely’s Future Mobility Constellation and Guodian Gaoke’s Tianqi Internet-of-Things constellation to reflect both company’s future plans. Also added the ‘What is a mega-constellation?’ section. Removed hyperlinks to years due to bugs with substacks heading links.

October 15th 2024: Added Qianfan Polar Group 02 (18 satellites) after a successful launch.

November 29th 2024: Expanded on Geely’s Future Mobility Constellation service offerings for phases two and three of operations. Also added a link to Bluesky.

December 5th 2024: Added Qianfan Polar Group 03 (18 satellites) after a successful launch.

December 16th 2024: Added the first GuoWang launch, GuoWang Group 01 (10 satellites).

December 19th 2024: Added the launch of Tianqi-33, Tianqi-34, Tianqi-35, and Tianqi-36.

January 23rd 2025: Added Qianfan Polar Group 06 (18 satellites) after a successful launch.

February 11th 2025: Added GuoWang Group 02, unconfirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion, after successful launch of a Long March 8A.

March 11th 2025: Added Qianfan Polar Group 05 (18 satellites) after a successful launch from Wenchang.

April 29th 2025: Added GuoWang Group 03, unconfirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion, after successful launch of a Long March 5B.

May 4th 2025: Updated Qianfan constellation details, specifically with satellite generations.

May 15th 2025: Added the Three-Body Computing Constellation.

May 19th 2025: Added Tianqi-16, 17, 19, & 20.

June 6th 2025: Added GuoWang Group 04, unconfirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion following the successful launch of a Long March 6A.

July 27th 2025: Added GuoWang Group 05, unconfirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion following the successful launch of a Long March 6A.

July 30th 2025: Added GuoWang Group 06, unconfirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion, after successful launch of a Long March 8A.

August 4th 2025: Added GuoWang Group 07, unconfirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion, after successful launch of a Long March 12.

August 8th 2025: Added Geely Future Mobility Constellation Group 04, with 11 satellites, after successful launch of a Jielong-3.

August 13th 2025: Added GuoWang Group 08, unconfirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion, after successful launch of a Long March 5B.

August 17th 2025: Added GuoWang Group 09, unconfirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion, after successful launch of a Long March 6A.

August 18th 2025: Added the GuoWang GEO Segment, with its three WHG satellites.

August 25th 2025: Added GuoWang Group 10, unconfirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion, after successful launch of a Long March 8A.

September 8th 2025: Added Geely Future Mobility Constellation Group 05, with 11 satellites, after successful launch of a Jielong-3.

September 16th 2025: Added GuoWang Test Satellites section and related launches.

September 24th 2025: Added Geely Future Mobility Constellation Group 06, with 12 satellites, after successful launch of a Jielong-3.

September 27th 2025: Added GuoWang Group 11, unconfirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion, after successful launch of a Long March 6A.

October 16th 2025: Added GuoWang Group 12, unconfirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion, after successful launch of a Long March 8A.

October 17th 2025: Added Qianfan Polar Group 18 (18 satellites) after a successful launch from Taiyuan.

November 10th 2025: Added GuoWang Group 13, unconfirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion, after successful launch of a Long March 12. Also another name for the GuoWang constellation.

December 6th 2025: Added GuoWang Group 14, unconfirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion, after successful launch of a Long March 8A.

December 9th 2025: Added GuoWang Group 15, unconfirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion, after successful launch of a Long March 6A.

December 12th 2025: Added GuoWang Group 16, with basically confirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion, after successful launch of a Long March 12.

December 26th 2025: Added GuoWang Group 17 with basically confirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion, after successful launch of a Long March 8A. Also included GuoWang and Qianfan deployment aims, shared in December 2025.

January 13th 2026: Added GuoWang Group 18, with basically confirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion, after successful launch of a Long March 8A. Also added Qianfan test satellite launches.

January 15th 2026: Added Tianqi-37, 38, 39, & 40 after a successful launch.

January 19th 2026: Added GuoWang Group 19, with basically confirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion, after successful launch of a Long March 12.

March 12th 2026: Added GuoWang Group 20, with basically confirmed satellite count at the time of inclusion, after successful launch of a Long March 8A.

April 7th 2026: Added Qianfan Polar Group 07 (18 satellites) after a successful launch from Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site via a Long March 8.

April 8th/9th 2026: Added GuoWang Group 21 after a successful launch from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center atop of a Long March 6A.

April 11th 2026: Added April 11th’s Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellite launch following a Jielong-3 launch mission.

April 24th 2026: Added April 24th’s four Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellites launch following a Long March 2D launch mission.

May 12th 2026: Added Qianfan Polar Group 09 (18 satellites) after a successful launch from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center via a Long March 6A.

May 17th 2026: Added 9th Qianfan Group (18 satellites) after a successful launch from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site atop of a Long March 8. Also renamed all previous groups to a sequential scheme due to several conflicting ones in use for Qianfan across its operator, contracted manufacturers, and launch vehicle providers that are used interchangeably.

May 30th 2026: Added May 31st’s four Satellite Internet Technology Experimental Satellites launch following a Long March 2D launch mission.

June 1st 2026: Added 10th Qianfan Group (2 satellites) after a successful debut launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center via a Long March 12B.

June 4th 2026: Added 11th Qianfan Group (18 satellites) after a successful launch from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center via a Long March 6A.

June 5th 2026: Added 12th Qianfan Group (18 satellites) after a successful launch from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site via a Long March 8.

June 9th 2026: Added the demonstration ‘Qianfan Direct-To-Cell-01 Satellite’ after a successful Zhuque-2E mission. Also updated the Tianqi constellation’s details regarding future plans.

June 17th 2026: Added GuoWang Group 22 after a successful launch from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site atop of a Long March 12.

July 4th 2026: Added 13th Qianfan Group (18 satellites) after a successful launch from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center via a Long March 6A.

July 5th 2026: Added 14th Qianfan Group (20 satellites) after a successful launch from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site via a Long March 8A.

July 24th 2026: Added Three-Body Testing Satellites section after a successful launch of a relevant satellite by a Kinetica-1.

A lightning-struck Long March 3B/E lifted off from Launch Complex 2 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 20:00 pm China Standard Time (14:00 pm Universal Coordinated Time) on July 23rd, carrying a satellite toward geostationary space.

Being placed into a geostationary transfer orbit was the China Academy of Space Technology-made Tianlian-2-06 (天链二号06星), a new communications and data relay satellite for the permanently crewed Tiangong Space Station as well as visiting vehicles like Shenzhou and Tianzhou. Each Tianlian satellite also removes communication dead zones where ground stations are absent on Earth.

By launching new Tianlian satellites, the amount of scientific data able to be transmitted from the orbiting laboratory can be increased, as well as the fidelity of video calls between taikonauts, researchers, and their families. Previous additions to the relay network took place in March and April 2025 after a three-year hiatus following deployments from 2019 to 2022.

The satellite is the eleventh of its series to be launched, and the sixth of the second generation based on the DongFangHong-4 spacecraft bus (东方红4号卫星平台). Usage of that bus allows the second-generation satellites to have a lifespan of up to fifteen years.

In a post-launch blog post, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology declared that Xichang-based personnel will continue to adapt the Long March 3B/E to the requirements of each mission and the current season to ensure success. It was also stated that quality control has been and will continue to be tightened, following a failure in January and a return to flight last month. Before January’s failure teams were working to fly the launch vehicle up to two times per month.

During ascent out of the lower atmosphere today, the Long March 3B/E was struck by lightning for the first time in-flight. That strike, despite entering through the fairing and exiting at the base of the first-stage, did not affect the outcome of the launch mission. Other rockets that have been struck and continued are Russia’s Soyuz-2 and the United States’ Saturn V.

Today’s mission was the 117th launch of a Long March 3B vehicle, and the 658th launch of the Long March launch vehicle series. This was also the 50th launch from China in 2026.

Liftoff video via 中国航天文化 and 卡尔达瓦里希 on Weibo.

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Check out the previous Long March 3B/E launch

What is the Long March 3B/E?

This section is for those less familiar with China’s Long March series of launch vehicles.

The Long March 3B is an older-generation geostationary orbit workhorse of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. The first two stages and four boosters of the rocket burn Dinitrogen Tetroxide and Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine, with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in the third-stage.

Over the launch vehicle’s history, two versions of the vehicle have flown, the 3B and 3B/E. Since 2012, only the 3B/E variant has flown due to its increased payload capacity. The payload capacity of the launch vehicle is currently as follows:

• 11,500 kilograms to low Earth orbit

• 7,100 kilograms to a sun-synchronous orbit

• 5,500 kilograms into a geostationary transfer orbit

• 2,000 kilograms into geostationary orbit

The first-stage is powered by four YF-21C engines that burn Dinitrogen Tetroxide and Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine to generate 302 tons of thrust, while the boosters are powered by one YF-25 engine burning the same fuel to generate 72 tons of thrust each. Combined the four boosters and first stage generate a thrust of 590 tons. The second stage is powered by one YF-22E and four YF-23F vernier engines that also burn Dinitrogen Tetroxide and Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine to generate 81 tons of thrust. The third-stage is powered by two YF-75 engines that burn liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to generate 17 tons of thrust.

On the launch pad, the Long March 3B/E is 56.3 meters tall and weighs 458,970 kilograms when fully fuelled. The first and second-stage have a diameter of 3.35 meters, while the third-stage has a diameter of 3 meters, along with the four boosters diameter of 2.25 meters, and the fairing has a diameter of 4.2 meters.

So far, every Long March 3B launch has occurred from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, in the south of Sichuan province.

From the waters of the East China Sea near (上海市), Orienspace’s Gravity-1 blasted off from a dedicated launch ship at 10:54 am China Standard Time (02:54 am Universal Coordinated Time) on July 22nd, flying towards a sun-synchronous orbit with a handful of customer satellites.

Among those being released into orbit was the 50-kilogram Tianyi-49 (天仪49星) built by SpaceTY (天仪研究院) to perform remote sensing and Earth observation technology verifications. This satellite is also known as BUPT-4 (北邮四号卫星) for a partnership with the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (北京邮电大学).

From Xi’an Zhongke Xiguang Aerospace Technology Co Ltd (西安中科西光航天科技有限公司), Xiguang-2-01 (西光贰号01星) is another remote sensing satellite that was delivered, with this one able to capture hyperspectral and full-color optical images, then processing them with an onboard artificial intelligence solution developed by Zhejiang Lab (之江实验室)1. Xiguang-2-01 is expected to prioritize tasking by the Yunnan Provincial Bureau of Geological and Mineral Exploration and Development (云南省地质矿产勘查开发局) as the first member of a small constellation.

A replacement satellite in Zidingxiang-3 (紫丁香三号卫星), or Lilac-3, additionally designated Kaiyun-2 (开运二号), produced by the Harbin Institute of Technology (哈尔滨工业大学) was flown too. The first satellite designated Lilac-3 is believed to have been lost in the failed inaugural Ceres-2 launch. Like its original, Lilac-3 is expected to verify thermal, mechanical, attitude control, and drag characteristics of extremely thin spacecraft.

The remainder of the payloads stop of the launch vehicle were six Dongpo (东坡) Earth monitoring satellites, designated Dongpo-13 (东坡13), Dongpo-14 (东坡14), Dongpo-17 (东坡17), Dongpo-18 (东坡18), Dongpo-19 (东坡19), Dongpo-20 (东坡20), from Huantian Wisdom Technology Co Ltd (环天智慧科技股份有限公司), a subsidary of MinoSpace (微纳星空). Four of those are designed around synthetic aperture radars while two have optical instruments.

One of them, Dongpo-14, has the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (西南财经大学), located in Chengdu (成都市), Sichuan (四川) province, as a partner for its tasks, with its collected imagery to be applicable to insurance data and investment considerations. The university disclosed that the satellite has optical instruments able to image at a resolution of 0.5 meters, while weighing 280 kilograms with the use of electric propulsion systems.

All six are part of the wider Dongpo fleet, now up to twenty, to enable frequent imaging of desired sites in any weather at any time for supporting natural resource monitoring, disaster prevention planning, and conservation efforts, among others. Those six satellites are also the first to be made by a new ‘super factory’ located in Wuxi (无锡市), Jiangsu (江苏) province, out of a planned one hundred and fifty per year.

Through launching the nine customer satellites, Orienspace has boasted that they now hold the record for the heaviest mass launched by a commercial space enterprise in China. A specific figure was not provided for that claim, but based on the upper limit of capabilities for other vehicles2, it should be at least 2,000 kilograms.

With this launch, Orienspace has also reduced the time between Gravity-1 missions, from the lows of twenty-one months between its January 2024 debut and October 2025 second flight, as this was nine months after the last. Future flights should have even smaller intervals between them thanks to simultaneous preparation efforts at the Haiyang Oriental Spaceport (海阳东方航天港) and internal leadership changes, which has already allowed Orienspace to speak with reclaimed confidence at industry events.

Today’s launch was the 3rd mission for Gravity-1. This was also the 49th launch from China in 2026.

Liftoff footage via PhilLeafSpace, 中国航天文化, and China航天 on Weibo.

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Check out the previous Gravity-1 launch

What is Gravity-1?

This section is for those less familiar with China’s various commercial launch vehicles.

The Gravity-1 is a commercial launch vehicle developed and manufactured by Orienspace. Gravity-1 utilizes solid propellant across all its three 2.65-meter-diameter atmospheric ascent stages, with a solid-fuelled fourth-stage for orbital insertion of payloads housed within a 4.2-meter-diameter fairing.

The payload capacity of the launch vehicle is currently as follows:

• 6,500 kilograms to low Earth orbit

• 4,200 kilograms to a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit

When prepared for flight, Gravity-1 stands 30 meters tall and weighs 405,000 kilograms. The first-stage consists of four solid rocket boosters, each generating 150 tons of thrust using an unspecified solid propellant, for a combined thrust of 600 tons. The second and third stages are both high-altitude-optimized solid rocket boosters, though their specific thrust levels have not been disclosed.

Currently, OrienSpace’s Gravity-1 is launched from floating sea platforms once prepared for launch.

Leading information and communications technology-focused outlet C114 reported on July 16th that China Mobile (中国移动), one of the nation’s three dominant state-owned telecommunications providers, has acquired a major stake in Guodian Gaoke (国电高科), of the Tianqi (天启) Internet-of-Things constellation.

According to the report, China Mobile has ‘strategically invested’ in the enterprise, spending a currently unknown amount of capital, to attain a 39.85 percent stake, making it the largest single shareholder. That is alongside new shareholders buying smaller stakes, resulting in the Chairman of Guodian Gaoke Lu Qiang’s (吕强) shares dropping down to 18.15 percent.

Citing industry insiders, C114 noted that Guodian Gaoke will maintain its operational independence and ownership of the Tianqi constellation, while enabling an efficient path for China Mobile services to be added to its satellites. To date, forty-one have been launched.

Services that the telecommunications giant would be looking to provide are space-based direct-to-device connectivity. Regulators approved relevant licenses for that in September 2025, with China Mobile being selected alongside the two other state-owned giants, China Unicom (中国联通) and China Telecom (中国电信).

Seeking to understand challenges with those services, China Mobile had a sizeable demonstration satellite placed into low Earth orbit last month, built by commercial spacecraft maker GalaxySpace (银河航天). The satellite builds on earlier demonstrations contracted by the telecommunications provider.

Guodian Gaoke is known to be developing satellites capable of providing direct-to-device connectivity, having announced plans to do so in June. Known details are that those new satellites will see a mass increase of over sevenfold, requiring larger launch vehicles to deploy them, and an increase in connectivity throughput of around sixfold over their current capacity, compared to the forty-one deployed so far.

Meanwhile in May, Guodian Gaoke was approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (中华人民共和国工业和信息化部) to trial Tianqi connectivity services to consumers across China using its currently in-orbit satellites until May 2028.

Those plans and a regulator-approved trial may have been China Mobile’s rationale for obtaining the large stake.

Interestingly, both enterprises were part of a massive international filing of satellites, almost two hundred thousand, at the end of last year. In that, Guodian Gaoke filed for a 1,132-spacecraft expansion to the Tianqi constellation, while China Mobile outlined 2,664 satellites across two constellations. At present its unclear whether their plans could merge.

At the other telecommunications giants, China Unicom has partnered with Geespace for Geely Future Mobility Constellation to make use of its capabilities. China Telecom has opted to offer similar services from geostationary space through the three Tiantong (天通) satellites, launched between 2016 and 2021.

By 2030, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is aiming to have over ten million domestic users connected by China’s space-based services through supporting relevant enterprises and streamlining market access.

In a major first for the Long March 10 series of launch vehicles, the Long March 10B performed its debut flight on July 10th, flying under the power of seven YF-100K engines before being caught a few hundred kilometers away at sea. That mission has been a major confidence boon at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, who are looking to build upon the vehicle already.

In a piece from China Central Television (中国中央电视台), not long after the debut mission, it was detailed that the bigger commercially-focused Long March 10C launch vehicle is already well into development and has been sufficiently designed to proceed with work, with involved space expert Qian Hang (钱航) sharing:

“[Adopting] the same ‘three-horizontal’ operational mode1 as the Long March 10B, the Long March 10C launch vehicle is under intensive development and will strongly drive the industrialization of China’s space transportation sector in the future.”

Alongside that, it was added that the Long March 10C will utilize the YF-219 engine in both its first and second stages. That means that those stages will use the less dense and lighter liquid methane and liquid oxygen, as expected when hints of the launch vehicle were first emerging. The second-stage used by the Long March 10B is expected to be minorly modified to work with the larger vehicle too.

Previous weeks have also seen a promotional placard leaked online, providing further details about the launch vehicle. That detailed that the Long March 10C will generate 1,260 tons of thrust at liftoff, which would come from nine YF-219 engines, to bring its 940,000-kilogram mass off of Earth. Like other members of the Long March 10 series, it will be 5 meters in diameter and up to 91 meters tall2 due to its propellant choices, meaning it will have a significantly tall first-stage.

At present with those design choices, insiders and bloggers of the SpaceLens team believe that the Long March 10C could be able to bring 22,000 kilograms into low Earth orbit when reusing the first-stage, or 27,000 kilograms if expending it.

Formal approval for the Long March 10C appears to have come in March through the China Long March Rocket Co Ltd (中国长征火箭有限公司), which will commercialize the launch vehicle while the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology manufactures it. The former is a subsidiary of the latter.

As for recovery of the Long March 10C’s first-stages, the significant increase in length compared to the Long March 10B will be a challenge in catching them aboard ‘Linghangzhe (领航者)’, as they could easily collide with the drone ship’s deck3 unless the tensioned wires are made to give less slack. Doing that would result in ‘harder’ catches and more structural stress, as well as requiring more propellant to slow down4. However, nothing prevents the Long March 10C from gaining landing legs and utilizing the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site’s multi-user drone ship, with neither expected to be ready until well into 2027.

Long March 10A to unify Tiangong launches

The China Central Television piece also repeated that the Long March 10A is planned to launch Tianzhou cargo resupply spacecraft to the Tiangong Space Station once the launch vehicle is flying a sufficient number of times per year. That would see the spacecraft moved off of the Long March 7, which is its only payload, and see three launch missions for the orbiting laboratory taking place on the same vehicle, as Mengzhou (梦舟) will carry taikonauts via the Long March 10A twice per year. Effectively unifying all Tiangong launch efforts to one launch site and one launch vehicle, instead of the current split between the Wenchang Space Launch Site and the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

Each Long March 10A mission is set to use new but reusable first-stage boosters5, according to Qian Hang. Once recovered for the first time, those boosters will then be given to Long March 10B teams for further flights, planned for up to ten uses with as little as ten days between missions via recovery and reuse.

While juggling a few variants that use different propellants, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology is confident that the shared use of 5-meter-diameter propellant tanks and structures will enable efficient and timely production. Select parts, like engine sections and interstages, of each variant were also said to be modular too.

Attached below is a translated transcript of the newest episode:

Inside the national space laboratory, the Shenzhou-23 crew has methodically carried out a range of activities, including space science experiments, maintenance of the space station complex, and personal health management. What tasks did the three taikonauts complete last week? Let’s take a look.

In the field of space medical experiments, research involving on-orbit electroencephalography studies is progressing smoothly. The crew is conducting a number of scientific tests, including weak-stimulus brain-computer interface experiments, microgravity intuitive physics experiments, and experiments on spatial cooperative coding and regulation, using electroencephalography data acquisition equipment, virtual reality headsets, and other tools. Ground-based researchers will conduct follow-up studies based on the data transmitted from the space station.

Research on the interaction between viruses and the body's immune metabolism in a long-term space environment is being carried out in orbit. Three taikonauts collected samples such as saliva and environmental surface microbial factors, which were then cryopreserved and awaiting return. In addition, ground-based researchers will conduct glycoprotein analysis and microbiome assessments on the saliva samples collected by the crew and investigate the correlations between these changes.

The crew is using a depth-sensing 3D camera to conduct long-term in-orbit research on taikonauts’ kinematic characteristics. By capturing 3D depth-sensing videos in specific work scenarios, they are collecting data on kinematic characteristics and their changes, providing data support for tasks such as ergonomic design and evaluation. In the video, [Li Jiaying] uses the index finger of her right hand to alternately touch her nose and a blue handrail, conducting a test to measure perceived mechanical forces related to proprioception, and collecting relevant data to assist ground-based researchers in their follow-up studies.

In terms of research on taikonauts’ psychological and behavioral abilities, the crew completed assessments of emergency decision-making capabilities and in-orbit emotional state tests, continuing to collect test data to investigate the patterns of change in emergency decision-making capabilities and emotional states among taikonauts during long-term stays in orbit.

In accordance with the experiment schedule for the field of physical sciences in microgravity, the crew replaced the fluid physics experiment cabinet and performed service maintenance and calibration on the experimental samples inside the cabinet. Additionally, the crew completed tasks such as clearing the samples in the containerless experiment chamber, maintaining the motors of the axial mechanism, and cleaning and replacing the window cover lenses.

Last week, the Shenzhou-23 crew carried out scheduled inspections and maintenance of the life support system equipment and replaced certain components. In conjunction, the crew used relevant instruments to measure air velocity and temperature inside the cabin, conducted air purity tests, and collected microbial samples from the drinking water dispenser outlets, thereby continuing to safeguard the habitable environment of their space home through these environmental monitoring activities.

Regarding health management, the three taikonauts continued to perform in-orbit exercises, actively using relevant equipment to counteract bone loss.

The taikonauts will soon have been in orbit for two months. What tasks will they undertake next? See you next week.

If there are any problems with this translation please reach out and correct me.

Tiangong TV Episode July 19th 2026 produced by the China Manned Space Agency, cloned to YouTube for viewing on the Western internet and archival.

The first Mengzhou (梦舟) mission had been revealed, twice, to be targeting a first launch in the later parts of this year, in late last year. Now it appears that the new crew capsule will be on Earth for a little while longer.

At the end of a recap of its activities over the first six months of 2026, the China Manned Space Agency shared what is upcoming for the remaining months of the year, writing:

“In the second half of the year, the program will carry out the launch of the Shenzhou-24 crewed spacecraft and the return of the Shenzhou-23 crew, respectively. The one-year crewed stay experiment will continue to move forward, and China’s space station will continue to produce more high-quality scientific research results.”

If there are any problems with this translation please reach out and correct me.

As usual, details about the upcoming Shenzhou taikonauts or astronauts were not provided, but notably mentions of Mengzhou or its first mission are absent. Its omission from the recap could be indicative that its first mission has been delayed from the end of the year to 2027, probably in the first few months1 should that be the case.

That is significant for both future use of the Tiangong Space Station, as a means to bring more crew members and cargo to the orbiting laboratory, and China’s crewed lunar landing program, with the spacecraft being responsible for bringing taikonauts to and from lunar orbit.

The inaugural Mengzhou flight, designated Mengzhou-1, is planned to launch uncrewed atop of a Long March 10A from the Wenchang Space Launch Site, being prepared in a new vehicle assembly building and rolled out to Launch Complex 301. Once in orbit, the spacecraft will chase down Tiangong and dock to it, proving its systems and allowing taikonauts to enter it once its hatches are opened. The spacecraft’s capsule is expected to return to Earth with some scientific cargo onboard.

No parts of the above mission, except for the use of its docking system, parachutes, and the first-stage booster, have been proven. The launch complex has hosted a less powerful test rocket in February for Mengzhou’s in-flight abort test.

Launch Complex 301 is, at present, being completed to support proper orbital launch missions, with crew access platforms yet to be installed and a variety of work taking place around it. The Long March 10 series launch platforms’ commodity tower is also not at its full height. Over in the technical area, the twin vehicle assembly buildings dedicated to the launch complex are still undergoing outfitting to prepare missions.

It is possible that with current ground system readiness, the China Manned Space Agency is holding itself back from committing to more concrete target dates. This may also see a satellite carrying launch of the Long March 10A, which would have flown towards lunar space, slotted somewhere else in the vehicle’s future schedule. The lunar satellite for it, reportedly supporting the wider lunar exploration program, also appears to be behind schedule, based on publicly available component bids.

Although the possible Mengzhou delay is unfortunate for those eagerly awaiting it, mission planners will not be losing much sleep over it in relation to the aim of having taikonauts on the Moon by 2030. All needed hardware is steadily progressing through development, with test flights of all planned over the coming years. Additionally, China is not of the view that it is in a race with any country to have people on the Moon soon.

On the sidelines of meetings about artificial intelligence and other technological innovations, Chairman of the Saudi Space Agency Abdullah Alswaha1 met with officials at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the nation’s dominant state-owned space contractor, and the China National Space Administration, who manage the nation’s civil space activities.

Discussions about various aspects of space technology and activities took place on July 13th, with the Saudi delegation talking with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation’s President Zhou Jie (周劼) and Chief Accountant Chen Lin (陈林), as well as the China National Space Administration’s Administrator Shan Zhongde (单忠德), for his second meeting with another space agency chief, and Chief Engineer Li Guoping (李国平).

In its brief announcement about the meeting, the China National Space Administration wrote:

“The two sides held in-depth discussions on the China-Saudi Arabia Space Cooperation Agreement and cooperation in areas such as deep-space exploration, space debris, and communications satellites, and reached broad consensus.”

If there are any problems with this translation please reach out and correct me.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Press Agency omitted mentioning the meeting with the China National Space Administration, instead focusing on one with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, sharing:

“Alswaha met with [President]2 of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Zhou Jie to strengthen cooperation in localizing space technologies, developing national capabilities in satellite manufacturing, and advancing knowledge transfer, supporting the growth of the Kingdom’s space sector.”

Overall, space was mentioned only briefly in the Saudi announcements, with greater emphasis on meetings for artificial intelligence and the digital economy.

Eight years ago in 2018, China launched two Saudi remote sensing satellites into low Earth orbit via a Long March 2D mission, serving as the anchor customer for a rideshare of twelve total satellites. The country has also contributed to the Chang’e 4 mission, launched December 2018, by providing a camera to one of its secondary satellites that was in lunar orbit until July 2019.

As of a June meeting in Bengaluru, Saudi Arabia is under consideration to be added to the BRICS group’s remote sensing satellite constellation to both add to and receive data from it. Currently the constellation has data gathered by China, Russia, Brazil, and India.

Building on earlier tests from the first months of this year, CAS Space has continued to perform development firings of its Kinecore-2 (力擎二号) engine, at its firing center in Conghua (从化区) within Guangzhou (广州市), Guangdong (广东) province, ahead of its introduction on the tri-core Kinetica-2 launch vehicle. The engine burns rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen to generate 110 tons of thrust.

In recent weeks, the engine performed two test firings in quick succession, starting without the help of engineers, to confirm its ability to routinely start up, shut down, and operate stably when firing for longer than designed, as detailed on June 30th. Those firings were 220 seconds (3 minutes, 40 seconds) and 400 seconds (6 minutes, 40 seconds) long respectively, for a cumulative firing time of 620 seconds (10 minutes, 20 seconds). Those firings with a single engine had it operate for three and a half times longer than needed with Kinetica-2.

The specific Kinecore-2 unit used for the firing has now fired for over 2,000 seconds (33 minutes, 20 seconds) while remaining in operational condition, according to CAS Space.

By firing for that long, CAS Space says it validates its engine teams’ mastery of Kinecore-2’s design and its production of the turbopumps and injectors to be able to possess the technology needed for reusable rocket engines.

Through development efforts so far, Kinecore-2 has performed over 5,000 seconds (83 minutes, 20 seconds) of test firings through a handful of development units. The engine is designed and produced internally at CAS Space.

Once Kinecore-2 development sufficiently meets space sector standards, CAS Space plans to introduce the engine to Kinetica-2 in several missions from now, replacing the externally sourced YF-102 from the state-owned Academy of Aerospace Liquid Propulsion Technology (航天推进技术研究院), to make the tri-core first-stage reusable. That is set to happen by 2028.

Meanwhile, in indirect news for the launch vehicle, a poster marking the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, shared by CAS Space on July 1st, features propellant tanks, structures, and a complete fairing for a Kinetica-2 in production. That hardware is likely for the second flight, as an interview from mid-June has the same hardware in a less equipped state.

That interview, citing CAS Space Founder and Chairman Yang Yiqiang (杨毅强), also shared that Kinetica-2’s second flight is being targeted for September, several weeks in the future. Another interview published on July 5th repeated the target too. If the flight occurs as planned, it will be just six months after the launch vehicle’s debut.

Ahead of that flight, the launch vehicle’s three first-stage cores and second-stage may need to undergo qualification firings at the Conghua site. Firings of the debut flights stages took place without publicity, with only development ones known to have occurred in June 2025.

Before Kinetica-2 flew for the first time, China in Space learned directly from CAS Space that they were looking to fly their new launch vehicle twice in 2026. The second mission is expected to carry eighteen Qianfan (千帆) space-based connectivity constellation satellites, which may begin consumer services this year.

Five days ago, China recovered its first rocket booster with the debut flight of the Long March 10B, seeing a liftoff from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site and a catch minutes later on board the drone ship ‘Linghangzhe (领航者)’ via a set of tensioned steel wires in the South China Sea.

Not long after being caught, and before recovery teams boarded the ship, the first-stage booster was passivated, removing remaining energetic propellants1. Around the same time, a set of thicker cables in the lower half of the ships’ catch structure was deployed to stop the booster from swinging on its catch hooks, which was induced by high waves.

Once recovery teams were on board ‘Linghangzhe’, the booster was secured for transport, being bolted to a stabilization rig to prevent unwanted movement. That rig appears to attach into the upper part of the engine section, where the Long March 10B is secured in its final moments ahead of liftoff.2

Over the course of four days, being delayed by a storm, ‘Linghangzhe’ was towed back towards Hainan (海南) province at a steady pace, sailing with smaller support ships carrying personnel and journalists. On the morning of July 15th, the drone ship with the recovered booster was brought into its ‘home port’ in Sanya (三亚市), marking the end of recovery operations for this flight.

In the coming days, the Long March 10B’s booster will be removed from ‘Linghangzhe’ and secured aboard a different vessel, lying horizontally, to make its way up to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology’s Tianjin (天津) facilities for thorough inspections and studying, so engineers can understand what hardware fared well and what needs to be improved. As previously announced, teams will then prepare the booster for a second launch towards the end of the year.

In Tianjin, hardware for two new boosters are well into production, as shown off to local media, with one having its engines mounted and the other awaiting its. Those boosters will be shared with the Long March 10A launch vehicle, as they are almost entirely identical except for the attachment mechanisms to the second-stage. According to officials, new boosters for both the Long March 10A and Long March 10B will make their first flights with the former before being transferred to the latter.

The Long March 10A is yet to make its debut flight, likely with the Mengzhou-1 mission, but it is expected that the first-stage booster will perform a recovery attempt. A second launch may also occur this year too. Those are alongside the hoped-for second mission of the Long March 10B, reusing the recently recovered booster, to prove that the 5-meter-diameter boosters can be flown and caught repeatedly. It is possible that before the year’s end ‘Linghangzhe’ may perform three more catches.

Last year in August, iSpace launched its first autonomous booster recovery drone ship, dubbed ‘Qinglan (清澜)’, Clear Waves in English, as the first part of its ‘Xingji Guihang (星际归航)’, Interstellar Homecoming, fleet. In the almost year since, the company has been conducting various trials of the 42-meter-wide and 100-meter-long vessel.

Those trials, taking place without any publicity, have gone well, as in June ‘Qinglan’ had an inert first-stage pathfinder loaded onto it. That pathfinder has full-scale grid fins and engines attached to a 4.2-meter-diameter representation of the boosters’ propellant tanks and structures, as well as semi-functional landing legs added in recent months. Around the middle of June, the booster pathfinder was placed onto the vessel at the city of Yangjiang’s (阳江市) port, in Guangdong (广东) province.

According to iSpace, ‘Qinglan’ was taken a significant distance offshore with the Hyperbola-3 pathfinder for extensive trials, supported by five other vessels for towing and assistance. A few of those ships were used to confirm that the drone ship was accurately relaying its position and maintaining communication links.

Regarding joint tests with the pathfinder, ‘Qinglan’ was left with it in various sea states to imitate the conditions a real booster would be in after a successful landing. That had the drone ship maintain its stability in waves up to four meters tall to prove that a Hyperbola-3 first-stage booster wouldn’t tip at the extreme end of acceptable weather. Passivating1 and stabilizing a booster was also practiced through the maneuvering and attaching of a dedicated robot, hardware pushed against landing legs, as well as a structure being attached to the base by teams once the pathfinder was verified as safe to approach.

When ‘Qinglan’ was left alone with the pathfinder, it was commanded to hold position using its four propulsion units, two at the aft and two in the bow. Those units are not powerful enough, and there is limited onboard fuel for it, to allow the drone ship to bring itself to and from port. As such, it was towed to and from trial sites.

iSpace says that ahead of the first time ‘Qinglan’ is needed its recovery teams will continue to practice procedures for bringing a Hyperbola-3 first-stage back home after landing. That includes safely unloading it from the drone ship, which has been done at least twice to date.

It remains to be seen when the drone ship will be used for the first time, as iSpace is yet to integrate a Hyperbola-3 launch vehicle for a debut flight and recovery attempt. Officials have previously indicated that they are aiming to fly and attempt a landing at least once this year.

As mentioned previously, the first-stage pathfinder gained semi-functional landing legs in May for drop tests at iSpace’s launch vehicle processing and refurbishment facility next door to the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site. Those tests confirmed that the leg design can withstand the expected touchdown impact before stabilizing.

Over two days, July 12th and July 13th, the next Long March 5 launch vehicle set to fly arrived at the Wenchang Space Launch Site, after being trucked from Qinglan Port (清澜港) in Wenchang (文昌市), Hainan (海南) province, and several days of sailing from its production sites in Tianjin (天津)1 and Shanghai (上海市)2 aboard a specialized transport ship.

The newly delivered launch vehicle is set to send the Chang’e 7 robotic Moon mission towards a polar lunar orbit, where it will reside for about ninety days ahead of a landing near the south pole's Shackleton crater. That landing site has been chosen to search for and study water ice.

With the Long March 5 at Wenchang, the China Manned Space Agency3 and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology shared:

“Next, the launch vehicle will undergo final assembly and testing at the launch site alongside the Chang’e 7 spacecraft, which arrived earlier. Currently, all systems involved in the mission at the launch site are proceeding with preparations for the Chang’e 7 mission according to schedule.”

If there are any problems with this translation please reach out and correct me.

As noted by the two organizations, the Chang’e 7 spacecraft has been at the launch site for a few months, having been shipped overnight in April. Previous weeks have seen the mission’s orbiter, lander, rover, and hopper undergo final instrument installation and integration with one another. One of those is the U.S.-Hong Kong-led ILO-C astronomical observatory.

Upcoming preparatory processes ahead of launch will see the Long March 5’s first-stage, second-stage, and four boosters individually inspected and tested. They will then be brought together on top of a mobile launch platform. At the same time, the complete Chang’e 7 spacecraft will be encapsulated inside the vehicle’s 5.2-meter-diameter fairing, later being placed atop of the rest of the Long March 5.

Joint testing ahead of a rollout to Launch Complex 101 is expected to take a few weeks to ensure all systems for the launch vehicle and spacecraft are working as designed. Barring the appearance of major issues, Chang’e 7 should be on the launch pad in the second half of August.

The upcoming launch will see the Long March 5 send its third lunar-bound spacecraft towards the Moon, with Chang'e 7 being the payload for its twelfth flight and the nineteenth of the Long March 5 series. The Long March 5 last flew in June with a geostationary satellite.

Attached below is a translated transcript of the newest episode:

After nearly 50 days in their space mission, the Shenzhou-23 crew’s list of in-orbit experiments continues to grow. Let’s take a look.

Last week, multiple experiments in the fields of space life sciences and human research were conducted simultaneously. In the footage, taikonauts worked in pairs to carry out tasks related to the multi-person collaborative interface experiment. As part of the research project on forces acting on the skeleton during exercise, the taikonauts conducted a series of tests, including plantar pressure measurements, lower-limb biomechanical testing, and measurements of muscle and tendon characteristics. By collecting plantar pressure data, joint kinematic data, motion imagery, and relevant electromyographic parameters during running and resistance exercises under various load conditions in space, researchers aim to establish the mapping relationship between different exercise state parameters and plantar pressure, as well as to identify changes in muscle-tendon interactions.

Additionally, the crew used near-infrared brain functional imaging equipment to conduct experiments related to neuroergonomic research on complex multitasking. Ground-based researchers will utilize the data collected in orbit to study the effects of the unique space environment on human cognitive control.

In accordance with the experiment schedule for microgravity physics, the burners inside the gas experiment modules of the combustion science experiment cabinet were replaced in batches, samples in the fluid physics experiment cabinet were replaced, and experimental samples inside the maintenance and assembly cabinet were also replaced. Furthermore, the team completed the installation of the multi-field effect evaporation module in the two-phase system experiment cabinet, cleaned the samples in the experiment chamber of the containerless cabinet, performed maintenance on the motor of the turntable mechanism, and cleaned the window cover lenses.

Regarding maintenance of the space station complex, the crew routinely conducted inspections and maintenance on life support equipment in a coordinated manner, performed maintenance on crew-specific equipment such as eye-washing stations and intravenous infusion devices, and tested the upgraded in-orbit mass measurement instrument, which was making its debut on the space station. In addition, the three taikonauts continued their in-orbit exercise regimen and actively used relevant equipment to counteract the physiological effects of microgravity.

Looking back at our beautiful blue planet from the space station, the taikonauts feel the warmth of home during breaks from their busy work. See you next week.

If there are any problems with this translation please reach out and correct me.

Tiangong TV Episode July 12th 2026 produced by the China Manned Space Agency, cloned to YouTube for viewing on the Western internet and archival.

While at the 2026 Mobile World Congress in Shanghai (上海市), which ran from June 24th to 26th, automaker Geely’s (吉利汽车) space subsidiary Geespace, operator of the 64-satellite Future Mobility Constellation, announced that its connectivity satellites are being opened up to support an open-source ecosystem of users, with many enterprises already onboard.

According to a press release published at the end of the congress’s first day, Geepsace proudly shared that dozens of enterprises, some commercial and others state-linked, across industries including logistics, communications, agriculture, aquaculture, livestock, and other space firms have agreed to work with or expressed interest in the ecosystem. Some notable participants present for the ecosystem announcement were:

• China Information and Communication Technology Group (中国信息通信科技集团), a state-owned enterprise that is focused on telecommunications equipment and satellite connectivity infrastructures.

• China Tower (中国铁塔), a joint venture between China’s three state-owned mobile broadband providers that operates the majority of the nation’s cell towers.

• Charoen Pokphand Group (正大集团), a Thailand-headquartered conglomerate with broad operations across agriculture, food, and related retail throughout Asia.

• Beijing Zhixin Semiconductor Technology Co Ltd (北京智芯半导体科技有限公司), a state-owned chip manufacturer that produces those used in Internet-of-Things connectivity applications.

• China Communications Standards Association (中国通信标准化协会), under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (中华人民共和国工业和信息化部), that manages communication standards in China.

In support of the ecosystem, four connectivity terminals were spoken as being available, without showing off designs. Two terminals of separate, but undisclosed, specifications are said to be designed for use in regions that lack traditional connectivity, and as such are expected to function over a few different frequency bands. Another terminal is supposedly compatible with standardized shipping containers in order to allow their owners to track them and monitor surrounding conditions. Lastly, there is a minituarized terminal that can be placed on an animal’s collar to track the location and activities of herds of livestock.

The creation of the Future Mobility Constellation-backed ecosystem appears to have gone well, as toward the end of the congress, over two hundred enterprises were stated to be partners for it. Alongside that, over 100 million Yuan (14.7 million United States Dollars, as of July 10th) in contracts for entities focused on construction, national energy production, smart agriculture and aquaculture, and the low-altitude economy1 were announced to have been signed under the new ecosystem.

Partners of the ecosystem are expected, according to Geespace, to explore ways to utilize connectivity services across their respective industries as well as working on their own terminals, and selling those, if they can refine an underserved niche use. This is hoped to enable the mass adoption of space-based connectivity services, specifically via Geespace’s constellation.

As mentioned at the start, the Future Mobility Constellation currently consists of 64 satellites, all in low Earth orbit and launched between 2022 and 2025. The constellation was initially launched to guide cars autonomously for the many brands owned by Geely, but it has broadened efforts into providing communication, connectivity, and positioning services globally. Capacity for those services will be continually expanded, as Geespace has plans for up to 6,012 satellites.

Prior to the creation of the ecosystem, users of the constellation are mostly entities within China using intelligent connected vehicles, low-altitude mobility services, emergency communications, and others from previously noted industries. Emergency services during major China-hosted sporting events have reportedly been equipped with Future Mobility connectivity terminals.

Beyond China, Geespace has inked international agreements with Bangladesh’s Systems & Services, Saudi Arabia’s Advanced Telecommunications Solutions and Services, Malaysia’s Altel Group Sendirian Berhad, Kazakhstan’s SATLAS, Argentina’s Orbith, and Morocco’s Soremar Group, among others, to make use of the constellation’s services.

For the first time, the Long March 10B blasted off from Commercial Launch Pad 2 at the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site at 12:15 pm China Standard Time (04:15 Universal Coordinated Time) on July 10th, heading for an 800-kilometer low Earth orbit as part of a demonstrative flight.

Ascent away from the launch site was as expected, with the seven YF-100K engines providing the thrust needed. Those burned for about two and a half minutes before shutting down for state separation, after which the second-stage’s YF-219 ignited to continue flight into orbit, which was achieved not long after. China Satellite Network Group (中国卫星网络集团有限公司) was shared to have been the customer to deliver an experimental connectivity satellite designated ‘Chuangxin-26 (创新26)’, built by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites, Chinese Academy of Sciences (中国科学院微小卫星创新研究院) and possibly related to GuoWang (国网).

Having completed its part of supporting orbital launch, the first-stage booster started to fall back to Earth in a controlled manner, aiming for the recovery drone ship ‘Linghangzhe (领航者)’. Part of that had an atmospheric reentry burn to protect the booster from succumbing to intense thermal stress, where three YF-100K engines ignited briefly, with the added benefit of refining the descent path.

After almost ten minutes of flight, the Long March 10B’s first-stage booster ignited three YF-100K’s for the last time, then swapped to one to slow and position itself onto the tensioned steel wires of ‘Linghangzhe’, where it was successfully caught! That catch took place 430 kilometers downrange and makes the launch vehicle China’s first proven reusable rocket1.

In a post-flight blog post, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, who manufacture the Long March 10B, shared that its first flight verified its choices for autogenous second-stage pressurization alongside the first-stage’s ability to start its engines multiple times, handle high aerodynamic and thermal stresses, descent to a target location with precision, as well as its recovery scheme. This launch also verified first-stage systems for the Long March 10A, which is shared with the Long March 10B minus system to make it human-rated, according to Rong Yi (容易), an Expert Rocket Designer leading development of the Long March 10 series, while she spoke with the media shortly after launch. The Long March 10A is expected to fly at least once before the year's end too.

For Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Co Ltd (海南国际商业航天发射有限公司), operator of the launch site, they committed to and accelerated their implementation of liquid methane propellant systems to enable the debut flight, meeting requirements to be loaded with propellant in under four and a half hours. Additionally, the operator dedicated its Commercial Launch Pad 2 teams to preparing for the Long March 10B, allowing for issues that arose, like hydraulic piston failures, to be resolved in a few weeks.

Getting the Long March 10B to fly from the commercial launch site has been a multi-month process, with support hardware being assembled at the start of the year before an inaugural April rollout. April saw the completion of a wet dress rehearsal of the countdown to test the launch vehicle and upgraded site systems, skipping static fires as those were completed elsewhere. The flight was then delayed for a few weeks to replace faulty launch pad components.

With the confidence gained from this flight and a February systems verification, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation says that the next Long March 10B is planned to fly before the end of the year. That will also have a reusable first-stage, either using a new booster or the one from today after its return to land for inspections and refurbishment.

Today’s mission was the 1st for the Long March 10B vehicle, the 1st flight of the Long March 10 series, and the 657th launch of the Long March launch vehicle series. This was also the 48th launch from China in 2026.

Liftoff and catch footage via 海南商发 and 商业航天发展 on WeChat, 中国的航天 and China航天 on Weibo, and raz_liu on Twitter.

Launch livestream via International Rocket Launches on YouTube.

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Check out the previous Long March 10 series update

What is the Long March 10B?

This section is for those less familiar with China’s Long March series of launch vehicles.

As a commercially focused launch vehicle marketed by China Long March Rocket Co Ltd (中国长征火箭有限公司), the Long March 10B is a two-stage partially reusable rocket fuelled by rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen in its first-stage, with a liquid methane and liquid oxygen utilizing second-stage. It is based on the Long March 10 series from the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, but omits additional systems required for redundancy and safety, as it does not carry human passengers.

Currently, the Long March 10B is expected to be able to lift the following:

• 16,000 kilograms to a 200-kilometer orbit with booster reuse

• 11,000 kilograms to a 900-kilometer orbit with booster reuse

Enabling ascent out of the atmosphere are seven YF-100K engines, producing 892 tons of thrust, on the first-stage. Continuing flight into orbit is a single YF-219 engine, generating 140 tons of thrust, powering the second-stage.

To facilitate reuse of the first-stage booster, the Long March 10B relights three engines during atmospheric re-entry and then again to shed most of its speed, before swapping down to one engine for fine-tuning of a catch and hovering. Four metal hooks at the top of the first-stage enable a catch by hanging onto tensioned steel wires, moved into position by the recovery drone ship. Four grid fins next to the hooks control the booster during unpowered descent.

Both stages of the Long March 10B are 5 meters in diameter, while the full launch vehicle stands 70.2 meters tall with its long fairing or 63.6 meters tall with its short fairing. Available fairings for it are also 5 meters in diameter. When fully fuelled, the launch vehicle weighs 760,000 kilograms.

So far, the Long March 10B has flown from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site, on the east coast of Hainan province, and is recovered at sea on the autonomous Long March 10 series booster-catching ship ‘Linghangzhe (领航者)’.