At 1959 Hours Hong Kong SAR- Beijing Time9 12 May 2026 , China- People’s Republic of China- CNSA –China National Space Administration Successfully launched Chang Zheng – Long March 6A yao 23 Carrier Rocket ignited and took off at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center Shanxi Province at 19:59 on May 12, the Long March 6A carrier rocket ignited and lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, subsequently sending the Qianfan polar-orbiting 09 group of satellites into their predetermined orbit. The launch mission was a complete success. The
Long March 6A rocket, developed by the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation , is China’s first solid-liquid coupled launch vehicle, capable of launching single, dual, triple, stacked, and wall-mounted satellites …
successfully sending the Qianfan Polar Orbit 09 satellite group into its predetermined orbit. The launch mission was a complete success. The
Long March 6A rocket, developed by the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), is China’s first solid-liquid coupled launch vehicle.
The launch services for the Qianfan Polar Orbit 09 satellite group were provided by Great Wall Industry Corporation, a subsidiary of CASC.
This launch was the 642nd launch of the Long March series of carrier rockets.
🚀 Mission Core Overview and Milestones
At 19:59 Beijing time on May 12, 2026, my country successfully launched the Qianfan Polar Orbit 09 satellite constellation into its predetermined orbit using a Long March-6A (Long March-6A) carrier rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, employing a high-density deployment of 18 satellites in a single launch. This launch mission not only achieved complete success but also set several new and important records:
- Flight 642 : This is the 642nd flight mission of China’s Long March series carrier rockets
- The number of satellites in orbit has increased dramatically : With the successful entry of the 09 group of satellites into orbit, the total number of satellites in orbit of the Qianfan constellation has officially increased to 144, and the ability to provide communication services across the entire domain has been substantially improved.
🌌 Constellation Network Blueprint and the Strategic Value of Polar Orbit
The G60 Starlink constellation is a domestically developed and controllable low-Earth orbit broadband internet constellation led by Shanghai Yuanxin Satellite Technology Co., Ltd., with a planned deployment of over 15,000 satellites. The successful launch of the 09 group of satellites further promotes the implementation of its “three-step” strategy
Filling the polar blind spots : The polar-orbiting satellite launched this time is mainly for signal coverage in high latitudes, the North and South Poles and remote areas, effectively filling the communication blind spots of traditional terrestrial networks in polar and high-latitude regions.
- Initial global coverage within the year : According to the plan, the Qianfan constellation is expected to achieve initial global coverage by 2026 (requiring at least 324 satellites), which means that multiple rounds of high-density launches will be carried out this year.
- Application scenarios : This constellation will be widely used in ocean shipping, aviation connectivity, emergency rescue and disaster relief, and other fields, providing high-speed and secure integrated air-space-ground network services for countries along the “Belt and Road” and Chinese-funded enterprises going global.
🛠️ The main rocket and technological highlights of the “Long March 6 Amplified”
The core force supporting this mission is the Long March 6A carrier rocket, which is currently in a period of high-density launches. Its technical characteristics perfectly meet the needs of large-scale commercial spaceflight deployment.
- The first solid-liquid coupled rocket : The Long March 6A is China’s first launch vehicle to adopt solid-liquid coupled technology. It has a payload capacity of no less than 4.5 tons at a sun-synchronous orbit of 700 kilometers and no less than 6.5 tons at an altitude of 500 kilometers.
- Flexible payload adaptation : The rocket supports various launch methods such as single satellite, multi-satellite tandem, stacking, and wall mounting, providing ample technical redundancy and capacity guarantee for the efficient deployment of “one rocket, multiple satellites”.
- Cost reduction and efficiency improvement : Relying on task-oriented design and mass production optimization, the Long March 6A rocket has significantly reduced the cost of a single launch, becoming the main model to promote the large-scale construction of low-orbit satellite internet.
🌍 Public attention and industry chain resonance
This launch was not only a technical success, but also generated widespread repercussions at the social and industrial levels:
- A dreamlike “rocket cloud” went viral : Because the launch occurred at dusk, the rocket’s contrail condensed into ice crystals in the low-temperature environment at high altitude, and was illuminated by the afterglow of the setting sun, creating a rare “twilight effect” in many places including Henan, Hubei, Shanxi, Guangdong, and Hainan, prompting netizens to take photos and check in with admiration.16twenty two
- The industrial ecosystem is being restructured at an accelerated pace : the dense networking of the Qianfan constellation has directly boosted orders for upstream satellite manufacturing, core components, and ground terminal equipment, propelling China’s commercial aerospace industry from technology verification to large-scale, routine operation..
Overall, the successful launch of the Qianfan Polar Orbit 09 satellite constellation marks another solid step forward in my country’s independent construction of a global low-Earth orbit satellite internet network. With the continued advancement of subsequent networking missions, the Chinese version of “Starlink” will gradually break the overseas monopoly, providing strong underlying support for the digital economy and global communications.
Images and visuals are from their Respectives CMS China Manned Space CNSA-China National Space Administration