Straight into Business with GuoWang! [Long March 8A Y1]
The second group of GuoWang satellites were delivered into low Earth orbit.
At 17:30 pm China Standard Time, or 09:30 am Universal Coordinated Time, on February 11th the first Long March 8A blasted off from LC-201 at the Wenchang Space Launch Site heading for low Earth orbit.
Riding atop of the Long March 8A for its first mission was the second batch of satellites for the GuoWang (郭望) mega-constellation. For this launch nine satellites were onboard and deployed into a roughly 871 by 860 kilometer 50 degree inclination orbit.
The GuoWang constellation is operated by China Satellite Network Group and wholly backed by the Chinese government, making China Satellite a state-owned enterprise. By the 2030s up to 13,000 satellites could be in orbit providing worldwide services, however China focused services will be the immediate priority.
Fewer details, compared to Qianfan, are known about the design of GuoWang satellites but a slide from one of Space Pioneer’s presentations states that each satellite weighs approximately 600 kilograms. GuoWang is likely utilizing a ‘flat pack’ design similar to the Shanghai-backed Qianfan satellites due to the need to deliver several satellites to orbit per launch. An electric propulsion system is also likely due to a planned operational orbit above 1000 kilometers in altitude, as it would be the most efficient means of propulsion to deorbit each spacecraft once they reach the end of their operational lives.
Work on the Long March 8A is said to have begun in 2017, specifically for its 3.35-meter diameter second-stage propellant tanks. The vehicles’ second-stage has allowed for a rethinking of manufacturing techniques for a unified diameter liquid hydrogen liquid oxygen rocket stage, allowing for the incorporation of new technologies and weight savings. One such newly incorporated technology are electro-hydraulic actuators.
A new fairing has been designed for the rocket too with a diameter of 5.2 meters while being the same length as what is already available for the Long March 8 series, allowing for a wider variety of possible payloads. With these improvements the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology expects the launch vehicle to be a competitive offering for launch services, both national and international. The Long March 8A is also boasted as having the capability to remain fuelled on the launchpad for 24 hours.
In the coming years, the Long March 8A is expected to start performing frequent launch missions from LC-201 at the Wenchang Space Launch Site and Commercial Launch Pad 1 at the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site. These launches could occur as often as much as once per week and will quickly replace the regular Long March 8.
Today’s debut launch provided the first flight of the YF-75H engine, also referred to as the YF-75DA, which will have an upgraded version propelling the third-stage of the Long March 10 Moon rocket. The YF-75H engine boasts a ~1-ton thrust improvement over the YF-75D as well as being approximately 15 kilograms lighter, weighing a believed 250 kilograms. Various improvements to efficiency and reliability have also been made to the engine.
This mission was the 1st launch of a Long March 8A vehicle, the 4th launch of the Long March 8 series, and the 559th launch of the Long March launch vehicle series. This was also the 7th launch from China in 2025.
Liftoff video via 北京蓝龙, 空天逐梦, 中国航天科技集团 on Weibo, live stream via International Rocket Launches on YouTube.
Check out the previous launch from Wenchang
What is the Long March 8A?
This section is for those less familiar with China's Long March series of launch vehicles.
The Long March 8A is an improved and more cost-efficient upgrade of the Long March 8 and the future workhorse of its developer, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. The vehicle utilizes a two-and-a-half-stage design and is fuelled by rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen in its first-stage and boosters along with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in the second-stage.
The payload capacity of the launch vehicle is currently as follows:
9,800 kilograms to low Earth orbit
7,000 kilograms to a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit
6,800 kilograms to a 900-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit
3,500 kilograms to geostationary transfer orbit
The Long March 8A's boosters and first-stage are powered by YF-100 engines, with two engines on the first stage and one on each of the two boosters, generating a combined thrust of 490 tons at liftoff. The second-stage is equipped with two YF-75H, also referred to as YF-75DA, engines which produce 20 tons of thrust.
On the launchpad, the core alone Long March 8 stands at 50.5 meters tall and weighs 371,000 kilograms when fully fuelled. The first and second-stage have a diameter of 3.35 meters, the two boosters have a diameter of 2.25 meters, while the fairing has a diameter of 4.2 or 5.2 meters.
Currently, the Long March 8A is flown from the Wenchang Space Launch Site and the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site, both on the east coast of Hainan province.