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 0348 Beijing time At 22:42 Beijing time on May 17, 2026, China successfully launched the 9th batch (x18) of the Qianfan constellation from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site using a Long March-8 carrier rocket. This launch was the 113th space launch globally in 2026, China’s 31st (5th this month), the 13th by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), and the 2nd by the Long March-8 rocket.
🚀 Key details of the launch mission
- Time and location : At 22:42 on May 17, 2026, the mission was successfully carried out at Launch Pad 1 of the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site.
- Launch vehicle : The Long March 8 Y8 carrier rocket will be used to launch eighteen satellites in a high-density mode.
- Payload status : All network satellites have successfully entered their designated orbits and are in normal condition, and the mission has been a complete success.
- Milestone data : This flight marks the 643rd launch of the Long March series carrier rockets and the second launch mission of the Long March 8 rocket in 2026.
🛰️ Two launches in five days, network deployment pace accelerated across the board.
- The number of satellites in orbit has increased dramatically : With the successful launch of the ninth batch of satellites, the total number of satellites in orbit in the Qianfan constellation has officially climbed to 162.627
- High-frequency launch test : Just five days before this launch (May 12), China successfully launched the “Qianfan Polar Orbit 09” satellite group from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. Conducting two large-scale satellite launches within five days not only puts pressure on the satellite development team and its tracking, telemetry, and command capabilities, but also directly demonstrates China’s mature industrial capabilities in the mass production of satellites and rapid response rocket launches.6
- Routine Operations : The frequent launches indicate that China’s commercial space industry is moving from single-launch technology to a new stage of large-scale industrial operations.
🌍 Strategic Blueprint and Industrial Applications
- Operating entity and planning : The Qianfan constellation (also known as “G60 Starlink”) is led by Shanghai Yuanxin Satellite Technology Co., Ltd., and is ultimately planned to deploy more than 15,000 low-orbit broadband communication satellites.
- The three-step strategy :
- Phase 1 : Deploy 648 satellites to achieve regional coverage;
- Phase II : Expanding to 1296 satellites, moving towards global coverage;
- Phase III : Providing ultra-large-scale services that integrate diverse businesses.
- Securing frequency and orbit resources : Low Earth orbit and communication frequencies follow the international rule of “first come, first served.” The accelerated networking of the Qianfan constellation directly helps China seize the initiative in limited space resources and break the monopoly of overseas low Earth orbit communication constellations.
- Application scenarios : Qianfan Constellation focuses on filling communication gaps in scenarios such as ocean shipping, aviation internet, remote mountainous areas and emergency disaster relief, and provides high-speed, low-latency integrated broadband services for air, land, sea and air, with a focus on the needs of Chinese enterprises going global along the “Belt and Road”.
Images and visuals are from their Respectives CMS China Manned SpaceCNSA-China National Space Administration