Taiyuan, China — China successfully launched the fourth batch of 18 satellites for its Thousand Sails megaconstellation early Thursday, using a Long March 6A rocket. The rocket lifted off at 12:11 a.m. Eastern (0511 UTC) on January 23 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China, marking another milestone in the country’s ambitious space program.
Long March 6A rocket lifts off from Taiyuan, carrying 18 Qianfan satellites into polar orbit. Credit: CASC
The 18 flat-panel Qianfan (Thousand Sails) Polar orbit group 6 satellites were deployed into orbit to expand the Thousand Sails megaconstellation, designed to provide low Earth orbit (LEO) internet services. The project, led by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST), also referred to as Qianfan or G60 Starlink, aims to build a massive constellation of 14,000 satellites, with 600 expected to be operational by the end of 2025.
Expanding the Constellation
This latest launch brings the total number of Qianfan satellites in orbit to 72, following previous launches in August, October, and December 2024. While the first batch of satellites has successfully raised its orbits from 800 kilometers to around 1,060 kilometers, the second batch appears to have faced issues, as they have yet to perform significant orbit adjustments, according to U.S. space tracking data. All satellites are in orbits inclined by 89 degrees.
The satellites launched on Thursday are believed to have been manufactured by the Shanghai Engineering Center for Microsatellites, a major contributor to China’s rapidly growing satellite production capabilities. The Thousand Sails project has received substantial financial backing, with SSST securing approximately $943 million in early 2024. Additionally, Genesat, a satellite manufacturing subsidiary of SSST, raised $137 million in December 2024 to support the initiative.
The Long March 6A rocket, developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST), is notable as China’s first launcher to combine a liquid propellant core stage with solid propellant side boosters. With the capacity to launch 4,500 kilograms of payload to a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit, the Long March 6A has now completed 10 launches since its debut in 2022.
Despite its success, the rocket’s upper stage has faced challenges with fragmentation, which has led to significant orbital debris. For example, the upper stage from the first Qianfan satellite launch broke into more than 700 pieces, raising concerns about space sustainability.
China’s Busy Launch Calendar
The Thousand Sails mission marks China’s fifth orbital launch attempt of 2025, following the launch of the Shijian-25 spacecraft on January 6, a sea launch of 10 navigation augmentation satellites on January 13, a remote sensing satellite for Pakistan, and a Ceres-1 commercial launch earlier this week.
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), which produced the Long March 6A, announced plans for over 10 launches of the rocket in 2025, a significant increase from the five conducted last year. CASC may aim to match or exceed its ambitious target of 100 launches, as seen in 2024.
China’s 2025 space agenda includes several major missions, such as the Shenzhou-20 and -21 crewed missions, resupply missions to the Tiangong space station, and the Tianwen-2 asteroid sample return mission, set to launch around May. Additionally, China plans to debut new Long March variants and potentially reusable commercial rockets as part of its evolving space program.
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