Month: June 2026

On CNSA –China National Space Administration    …. ChangZheng  Long March 12B Reusable Carrier r flight rocket …. Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Zone JiuquanSatelliteLaunchCenter, Inner Mongolia, China, People’s Republic of China  First Flight a Success! Long March 12B Rocket Successfully Launches the 10th Batch of Qianfan Constellation Satellites] At 16:40 on June 1st, the Long March 12B carrier rocket ignited and lifted off from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Zone, subsequently sending the 10th batch of Qianfan constellation satellites into their predetermined orbits. The maiden flight was a complete success. This adds another high-capacity commercial rocket to China’s large-scale internet constellation networking mission.

The Long March 12B rocket was developed by China Commercial Rocket Company, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
This launch was the 647th launch of the Long March series of carrier rockets. (

🚀 Key Achievements of the Maiden Flight Mission

• Launch time and payload : At 16:40 Beijing time on June 1, 2026, the Long March 12B rocket was launched from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Zone, successfully sending the tenth batch of Qianfan constellation networking satellites (officially referred to as “Qianfan Polar Orbit 08 Group Satellites”) into their predetermined orbits. The maiden flight achieved “double success in launch and orbit insertion”
• The main body and cycle of development : The development was led by China Commercial Rocket Company (CCOM), a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. It took only 21 months from blueprint design to the first flight , setting a record for the speed of development of medium and large rockets in China.
• Historical significance : This mission marks the 647th launch of the Long March series carrier rockets , signifying that China’s commercial space program has officially entered a new stage of large-capacity, high-density network deployment.

⚙️ Technological Breakthrough of the 20-Ton “Capacity Champion”

• Powertrain :
  • It uses liquid oxygen and kerosene propellant . The first stage is equipped with nine YF-102R engines with a thrust of 100 tons each (90 tons at sea level, supporting variable thrust at depths of 50% to 105%), and the second stage is equipped with one YF-102RV vacuum engine (710 kN vacuum thrust), with a takeoff thrust of 800 tons.
  • By integrating nine engines into a large-diameter common-bottom tank and an integrated tail section design , the rocket body achieves systematic “weight reduction and slimming,” thereby improving carrying efficiency.
• Intelligent control :
  • Equipped with dual flight control computer systems (one for primary and one for secondary flight control), it has fault diagnosis and reconfiguration capabilities, and can monitor the status of nine engines in milliseconds and automatically “coordinate and compensate”
  • For the first time, Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) technology was applied to achieve microsecond-level synchronous transmission of more than 8,000 parameters across the entire rocket.

• Recycling Design :
  • Although the rocket was not actually recovered during its maiden flight, it has been equipped with four grid fins, four landing legs, and an attitude control system , which provides a foundation for technical verification in subsequent vertical recovery tests

🏭 “Archery range integration” creates a closed business loop

• Self-developed launch pad : The mission utilizes China’s first self-built test and development pad for commercial rockets , capable of supporting the launch of 1,000-ton thrust rockets and achieving compatibility and rapid recovery capability with multiple propellants such as liquid oxygen and kerosene
• Low-cost strategy : Innovative application of mature products such as automotive-grade components and industrial-grade flexible cable networks reduces the weight of cable networks by 30% to 40% , significantly reducing manufacturing costs.3140

🔮 Reusable technology verification and follow-up plans

• Step-by-step iterative path : The maiden flight focuses on verifying the reliability of orbit insertion. Subsequently, a vertical recovery test of the first stage will be carried out at an opportune time, with a target of ≥10 recovery and reuse times and a near-ground carrying capacity of approximately 12 tons in the recovery mode.
• Market positioning : Targeting China’s low-Earth orbit constellation networking needs (such as the “China Star Network” plan of 12,000 satellites), it supports large-scale constellation deployment with high-frequency and low-cost launches , and the cost per launch is expected to be more than 40% lower than that of traditional rockets.

The successful maiden flight marks China, People’s republic of China  entry into the field of heavy-lift launch vehicles for commercial rockets. Subsequent breakthroughs in recovery technology and routine launch capabilities will become key variables in breaking the bottleneck of “many satellites but few rockets” and reshaping the global commercial launch landscape…

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

On 1st June 2026 launch  CNSA _China National Space Administration China, People’s Republic of China 34th Launch This Year] At 2:07 AM on May 31, 2026, a Long March-2D carrier rocket successfully launched a satellite internet technology test satellite into its predetermined orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, marking a complete success for the mission. The satellite internet technology test satellite is primarily used for testing and verifying technologies such as direct satellite broadband connections for mobile phones and the integration of space and ground networks. This launch was the 646th launch of the Long March series of carrier rockets.

📅 Mission Core Overview

This launch mission marked the 646th flight of the Long March series carrier rockets and the 105th launch of the Long March 2D carrier rocket. The mission details demonstrated an extremely high level of engineering maturity and launch frequency.

• Launch details : At 02:07 Beijing time on May 31, 2026, the Long March 2D carrier rocket was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center and successfully sent the satellite into its predetermined orbit
• Launch vehicle : The Long March 2D rocket, developed by the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, is a room-temperature liquid two-stage launch vehicle capable of launching single or multiple satellites under different orbital requirements. This mission employed a point-stacking separation mechanism and a large 4.2-meter diameter space fairing, with a payload capacity of 1.3 tons to a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit.
• Payload Layout : This mission adopted a “one rocket, four satellites” launch method. The four experimental satellites were jointly developed by commercial aerospace companies such as China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, and LandSpace. Among them, StarLink provided broadband communication base stations and narrowband IoT payloads for two satellites, realizing on-orbit verification of “broadband and narrowband dual-mode”

📡 Breakthrough and Validation of Core Technologies

This is not an ordinary communication test, but a crucial deep-water verification of satellite internet’s transition from “conceptual networking” to “consumer-grade applications,” focusing on two core technologies

• Direct satellite broadband connection for mobile phones : This technology aims to verify that ordinary smartphones can directly connect to satellites and access broadband internet without any special modifications or external satellite dish antennas. This technology overcomes the limitations of previous satellite communications, which were only used for low-speed emergency text messages or narrowband voice calls, and aims to achieve a broadband communication experience with downlink speeds exceeding 100Mbps
• Seamless Integration of Space-Ground Networks : The focus is on testing the intelligent switching and deep integration of space-based networks with terrestrial 5G/6G networks. By overcoming challenges such as high latency and unstable signals in space-to-ground links, the test ensures seamless cooperation between the satellite network in space and the vast ground communication network, enabling users to experience a “seamless” connection when switching between different networks.

🌍 Business Prospects and Applications in People’s Livelihoods

The successful launch of the experimental satellite lays a solid foundation for building a seamless global integrated network covering air, space, land, and sea.

• Eliminating communication blind spots : Traditional terrestrial base stations can only cover a small portion of the global land area, while satellite internet will fill communication dead zones in oceans, deserts, mountains, and remote areas. In scenarios such as disaster relief, ocean shipping, and in-flight internet, satellite networks will gradually transform from a “backup plan” into a reliable communication guarantee.6
• Supporting the “Space-Based Foundation” of 6G : Satellite internet is a crucial component of future 6G networks. This trial verified the interoperability of satellite-based base stations with the existing 5G core network, paving the way for the realization of an integrated space-air-ground network for 6G commercialization around 2030.
• Commercialization Timeline and Pricing : Industry forecasts predict that with the accumulation of trial data and the advancement of satellite constellation deployment, ordinary consumers can expect to experience high-speed internet access via direct satellite connection from their mobile phones as early as the end of 2026 to the beginning of 2027. As the scale expands, basic package pricing is expected to further decrease, potentially down to around 199 yuan per year, with data traffic unit prices kept at a low level.
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🚀 Industrial Chain Resonance and Strategic Significance

This launch is not only a technological breakthrough, but also directly catalyzes the resonance of the trillion-dollar commercial aerospace industry chain and accelerates the strategic layout of the national satellite constellation.

• The entire industry chain will benefit : the advancement of technology verification directly paves the way for commercialization expectations. Upstream products such as spaceborne phased array antennas and communication RF chips (such as T/R components), midstream products such as mobile phone direct connection baseband chips, and downstream products such as ground gateway station construction and operation services will all see broader market opportunities.68
• Accelerating the Deployment of Mega-Constellations : This launch marks a crucial milestone in the high-frequency networking of national and commercial constellations such as the “GW Constellation” (China Star Network) and the “Qianfan Constellation” (G60 Starlink). The data acquired by the experimental satellite will provide critical support for the deployment of hundreds or even thousands of subsequent networking satellites, propelling China’s low-Earth orbit satellite internet towards large-scale, industrialized production.

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