Two launches in two days: Civilian and commercial rockets begin networking.
At approximately 6:00 AM on September 16, the Gravity-1 YL-3Y3 carrier rocket was launched from the East my country Sea, successfully sending eight Qianfan constellation networking satellites and one ultra-high-speed wireless communication technology test satellite into their predetermined orbits. The launch mission was a complete success.
Just about 16 hours earlier, the Zhuque-2 improved Y7 carrier rocket (ZQ-2EY7) successfully sent 10 satellites of the Qianfan Polar Orbit Group 19 into their predetermined orbits.
Two civilian and commercial rockets were launched in quick succession over two days, both carrying payloads from the same customer: the Qianfan constellation networking satellites from Yuanxin Satellite Company.
1. First batch of civilian and commercial rockets form a satellite internet network.
Words like "first time" and "first" are too easily devalued in commercial spaceflight, so the qualifiers need to be clearly defined.
This marks the first time that a Chinese civilian-commercial rocket has successfully launched a batch of satellites to form a low-Earth orbit internet constellation.
Over the past two years, the launch missions of the Qianfan series have been almost entirely handled by the Long March series, with the Long March 6A, Long March 8, Long March 8A, and Long March 12B taking turns to launch.
Image/Network history of the Qianfan constellation before September 15th (Greyplane wiki)
Previously, commercial and civilian rockets had launched satellite internet satellites, but these launches were mostly experimental and verification satellites. For example, the Qianfan DTC01 satellite, launched by LandSpace's Zhuque-2E Y6 in June 2026, was a verification satellite for direct mobile phone connection technology.
The real hurdle to overcome is launching a large number of satellites to form a formal network.
Launching multiple flat-panel satellites at once (36 satellites per orbit for a low-Earth orbit satellite internet constellation, which can be launched separately) requires simultaneously addressing issues such as stacking structure, satellite-rocket interface, separation timing, and orbital accuracy.
my country's private commercial space industry has been developing for over 11 years, and has finally ushered in large-scale constellation launches. The significance of the launch of 18 satellites by these two types of rockets on the 15th and 16th lies in this.
2. Who else is waiting to launch a thousand civilian and commercial rockets?
Qianfan's list of rocket service providers is changing from a "national team" to a "national team + private and commercial team".
In fact, several years ago, Yuanxin Satellite began both public and private bidding for rocket launch services. According to the "2025 Launch Vehicle Launch Service Procurement Project" announcement, it once offered 1.336 billion yuan for seven launch services, and required successful flight experience.
- In February 2025, Yuanxin's first public tender for launch services failed because "there were not enough three suppliers to register."
- In August 2025, the tender for launch service package one (10 satellites in one rocket, 616 million yuan) was announced to have failed, still due to the lack of three suppliers.
- Package Two (18 satellites launched in one rocket, 720 million yuan) was successfully tendered because the restrictions were relaxed to "allow models that have not yet made their maiden flight". LandSpace, Tianbing Technology, and Zhongke Aerospace ranked as the top three winning bidders.
According to the bidding announcement at the time, the civilian and commercial rockets that could be matched for launching 10 satellites at once were: the improved version of Zhuque-2 (ZQ2-E) and Gravity-1 (YL-1).
Currently, the only rockets capable of carrying 18 satellites at once with successful launch records are Zhuque-3 (ZQ-3) and Lijian-2 (PR-2).
Image/Zhuque-3 and Lijian-2
Rockets such as the Pallas-1, Tianlong-3, and Hyperbola-3, if they meet the launch capacity requirements and have successful launch records, could also be considered as candidates for Qianfan Launch Rockets.
- Pallas-1 (PALAS-1) successfully completed its maiden flight on September 1st from Jiuquan. If its payload capacity can be increased to 2.8 tons at a distance of 950 kilometers from the polar orbit, it also has the potential to become one of the launch service models.
- Tianlong-3 (TL-3). Its maiden flight failed on April 3rd, but passed the zero-review on September 10th. The fault was identified as liquid oxygen emitted during flight being drawn into the rocket's base, causing secondary combustion of turbine exhaust and eroding the heat shield structure. Tianbing Corporation announced that the Tianlong-3 Y2 rocket is scheduled to resume flights in the fourth quarter.
- The Hyperbola-3 (SQX-3) is scheduled to make its maiden flight at Wenchang at the end of this year, with a simultaneous attempt at sea recovery (other reports suggest early next year).
Image/Tianlong-3, Pallas-1, Hyperbola-3
Based on this calculation, there may be seven types of civilian and commercial rockets available for use in the network of thousands of launch vehicles next year, with capacity and price becoming the key factors in the market competition.
3. Qianfan's annual target is 324, with 68 more satellites yet to be launched.
As of September 16, the Qianfan constellation has deployed 256 satellites, maintaining its position as the country with the largest number of low-orbit satellite internet networks.
Yuanxin Satellite has set a goal for the first phase of its mission to complete the global network of 324 satellites by the end of 2026 and simultaneously launch commercial operations.
There is a shortage of 68 units, and only three and a half months remain.
There is a widely held consensus in the industry: there are no arrows available.
Of the existing Long March series rockets, only a handful can be used for commercial launches and satellite constellations, and the number available for the Qianfan constellation is extremely limited, as the demand for satellite constellation launches must also be taken into account.
This assessment is not difficult to verify. As of September 16, 2026, the GW constellation led by China StarNet had deployed 226 satellites, and the Qianfan constellation led by Yuanxin Satellite had deployed 256 satellites, both of which had only completed about 1.7% of their respective total plans. Putting aside satellite production capacity, one of the biggest bottlenecks for constellation networking is rockets, launch pads, and launch windows.
This is a match with a countdown.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) implements a "first-come, first-served" policy for frequency rail resources. Once submitted, deployment must be completed within seven years, otherwise the resources will be reclaimed.
4. Time waits for no one, and capital and the market are equally anxious.
Although the plan to complete the network of 15,000 satellites by 2030 has been slightly adjusted (the completion time of each phase has been postponed), the overall goal remains unchanged.
In August 2026, Yuanxin completed a capital increase of 6.976 billion yuan, with 18 industrial capital firms participating. The post-investment valuation was approximately 50 billion yuan, setting a new record for single-round financing in the domestic commercial aerospace industry. In early September, Hangzhou Alibaba Venture Capital and SAIC Financial Holdings completed their investment, increasing the registered capital to 2.484 billion yuan.
With state-owned assets, industrial capital, and international markets entering the valuation model, network speed and service revenue have become key performance indicators.
Yuanxin has clearly decided to place its first step in commercialization overseas. It has obtained regulatory approval and started the construction of a customs station in Brazil, and the customs station project in Malaysia is underway. At the same time, it is conducting business docking with more than 30 countries.
All of this is predicated on network speed.
In addition to speed, the cost per satellite and the cost per unit bandwidth must also be reduced to a level that allows for direct competition in overseas markets.
68 satellites, three and a half months – this is the remaining task for Qianfan, and also one of the milestones in the completion of my country's satellite internet construction.
This article is sourced from: Space Stories
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