
On CNSA –China National Space Administration …. ChangZheng Long March 8 Carrier flight rocket …. At Hainan Commercial Space Launch Center. Wenchang, Hainan Province, China, People’s Republic of China At 14:34 Beijing time on June 5, 2026, the Long March 8 Y9 carrier rocket was launched from Launch Pad 1 at the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site, successfully sending the Qianfan Polar Orbit 12 satellites into their predetermined near-polar orbit.



The Qianfan Polar Orbit 12 constellation comprises 18 satellites, which are small low-Earth orbit communication satellites developed by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This mission marks the 6th launch of the Qianfan constellation in 2026 and the 12th launch overall. With this launch, the total number of Qianfan satellites launched in 2026 will reach 92, bringing the total number of satellites launched in batches to 200.


The Long March 8 is a medium-lift cryogenic liquid-fueled launch vehicle developed by the First Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Its core stage and booster stages are the same as those of the Long March 7, but the number of boosters has been reduced from four to two. The final stage (core stage two) is the same as the final stage (core stage three) of the Long March 3A series launch vehicles. This rocket has the capability to launch into low, medium, and high Earth orbits, as well as deep space, and is currently the main rocket model for China’s low-Earth orbit constellation network.
The Long March 8 rocket has set a new record for the shortest launch interval among all rocket models!
The Long March 8 rocket is 50.34 meters tall (equipped with a 4.2-meter diameter fairing), with a maximum stage diameter of 3.35 meters. It can be equipped with either a 4.2-meter diameter, 5.4-meter height fairing (short fairing) or a 4.2-meter diameter, 12-meter height fairing (long fairing). It has a liftoff mass of 356 tons and a payload capacity of 5.5 tons to a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). This particular rocket is equipped with a 4.2-meter diameter long fairing.
Currently, the rocket team has significantly increased the launch density of the Long March 8 rocket through methods such as pulsed production and parallel testing and launch of two rockets simultaneously. This mission comes only 18 days, 15 hours, and 52 minutes after the last launch of the Long March 8 rocket, setting a new record for the shortest launch interval for the Long March 8 and even the Long March 8 series of rockets. In 2026, the Long March 8 rocket will enter a higher-density launch mode.
This launch was provided by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Commercial Rocket Co., Ltd. (CCASCOM), the general contractor. As the domestic commercial launch service platform of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, CCASCOM provides “one-stop” launch solutions to quickly respond to the launch needs of large-scale low-Earth orbit constellation deployment.

This mission marks the third launch of the Long March-8 carrier rocket in 2026, the sixth launch from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site, the 37th launch for China, and the 130th launch worldwide. It also represents the seventh launch of the Long March-8 carrier rocket and the 649th launch of the Long March series of carrier rockets.

Images and visuals are from their Respectives CMS China Manned SpaceCNSA-China National Space Administration











































