HELSINKI — China launched a third batch of Guowang megaconstellation satellites Tuesday, advancing its ambitious low Earth orbit communications network to rival Starlink and other global systems.
A Long March 5B heavy lift rocket with a Yuanzheng-2 upper stage lifted off at 4:10 p.m. Eastern (2010 UTC) April 28 from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan island, southern China, with the rocket climbing above heavy fog at the spaceport.
The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) announced the success of the launch just over two hours after liftoff. SAST described the launch as carrying the satellite Internet low-orbit group 03 satellites, without providing further details or images of the satellites.
While U.S. Space Force space domain awareness had not cataloged objects associated with the launch at time of reporting, airspace closure notices indicated the satellites were to be inserted into a near-polar orbit. The first group of Guowang satellites, also launched on a Long March 5B with a YZ-2 upper stage, consisted of 10 satellites. The SAST mission patch included 10 stars, which in Chinese can be used as synonymous with satellite.
The China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), which, like SAST, is a major institute under China’s state-owned main space contractor, CASC, manufactured the satellites.
CAST stated in December it had developed large and small satellite platforms for Guowang, without disclosing functional differences. It is likely, given the payload capacity and voluminous payload fairing of the Long March 5B, that the group 03 satellites belong to the larger category.
The constellation’s second launch, in February, used the smaller Long March 8A launcher and likely carried nine of the smaller platform satellites.
If Tuesday’s launch carried another 10 satellites, this would bring the total number of Guowang spacecraft in orbit to 29, with 19 of those tracked by the U.S. Space Force from the earlier two launches.
Unlike previous missions, the first stage of the Long March 5B is not expected to reach orbit, avoiding an uncontrolled reentry. This is due to the rocket using the YZ-2 upper stage to insert the satellites into their intended orbits.
The mission, as noted by Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer who also tracks spaceflight activities, was one of four megaconstellation launches Tuesday, highlighting how these projects are changing the launch landscape.
Target: 13,000 satellites
Guowang is planned to consist of around 13,000 satellites. It aims to provide global communications coverage from low Earth orbit and is seen as a response to Starlink and other constellations.
Despite the ostensibly civilian focus of the Guowang constellation, the availability of details regarding the project is limited. The lack of transparency, even in comparison to the Shanghai-led Qianfan/Thousand Sails megaconstellation, has raised questions.
The project is overseen by the state-owned China Satellite Network Group Co., Ltd., or China Satnet, established in April 2021. China Satnet will need, according to ITU regulations, to launch half of the 13,000 satellites by 2032, requiring a large growth in China’s launch cadence.
Tuesday’s launch was China’s 23rd orbital launch of 2025, following after the launch of Shenzhou-20, April 24, and the Tianlian-2 (05) data relay satellite April 27. The Shenzhou-19 crew were due to return to Earth April 29, but this has been pushed to April 30 due to weather.
China has not revealed how many launches it is planning for 2025, but it may target around 100, inline with the stated but unmet goal for 2024. One of the highlight launches, the Tianwen-2 near-Earth asteroid sample return and comet rendezvous mission, is set to launch during the last 10 days of May.
