China Launches 25th Batch of LEO Internet Satellites

China successfully launched its 25th batch of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite-internet satellites early on 17 September, placing the spacecraft into their planned orbits and marking another step in Beijing’s accelerating effort to build a domestic broadband constellation to rival systems such as SpaceX’s Starlink.

According to Xinhua, the launch took place at 08:32 Beijing time from the Hainan Commercial Spacecraft Launch Site in Wenchang, Hainan Province, using a Long March 12 (Chang Zheng 12) carrier rocket. The state news agency reported that the satellites “smoothly entered their predetermined orbits” and that the mission achieved “complete success.”

A Reusable Workhorse Rocket

The Long March 12 is a next-generation cryogenic liquid-propellant rocket developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, an arm of the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). Citing CASC, Science and Technology Daily noted that the vehicle is “China’s first 4-metre-class diameter, single-core-stage launch vehicle.”

The rocket is roughly 62 metres long and can carry no less than six tonnes to a 700-kilometre Sun-synchronous orbit, according to the report. It can be fitted with either 4.2-metre or 5.2-metre fairings and is designed to support both single- and multi-satellite missions to different orbits. The launch was contracted by the China Commercial Rocket Company, a CASC subsidiary, and was the 667th flight of the Long March rocket series.

Inside the Guowang Constellation

The satellites form part of the China SatNet, or Guowang (“GW”), constellation — the country’s first mega satellite-internet plan. IT之家, reporting on an earlier launch in the same series, detailed the constellation’s design: the GW network is filed as the world’s second-largest LEO system, with a planned total of 12,992 satellites arranged in a dual-layer architecture — a very-low orbit below 500 kilometres plus a near-Earth orbit at roughly 1,145 kilometres. That design is intended to balance low latency against wide coverage, with a backbone network targeted for completion by the end of 2026 and national coverage as the first priority.

China is pursuing two parallel megaconstellations. Alongside the state-led GW system, the Shanghai-backed Qianfan constellation — often described as “China’s Starlink” — is being commercially developed by Shanghai Yuanxin Satellite. According to OFweek, the Qianfan program aims to complete a first phase of 324 satellites by July 2026 and ultimately plans more than 15,000 satellites across three phases, integrating multimedia, remote-sensing and 6G capabilities.

Policy Push and Strategic Motivation

The 17 September launch reflects a deliberate policy shift. The 2026 Government Work Report called for building aerospace and the low-altitude economy as emerging pillar industries and for “accelerating the development of satellite internet,” listing it as a key annual task. The 15th Five-Year Plan outline draft similarly includes 109 major engineering projects across six areas, explicitly strengthening satellite-internet and related infrastructure.

China’s early history in the field is often overlooked. As OFweek recounted, China sent its first LEO communications test satellite into orbit in 2003 — years before Starlink existed — but deployment was comparatively slow. A mature domestic ground network reduced the urgency, even as ocean shipping and civil aviation in-flight connectivity continued to rely partly on foreign satellite services, a dependency Beijing views as a security concern.

The Global Race

Each batch of launches advances China’s position in an intensifying competition for orbital slots and spectrum, which are allocated under International Telecommunication Union rules on a first-come basis. Starlink’s early-mover advantage has given SpaceX a lead in both orbital presence and user lock-in.

By building out the GW and Qianfan systems, China aims both to secure its own connectivity requirements and to offer an alternative to Starlink in overseas markets, notably across Belt-and-Road and Global South countries. Chinese commercial aerospace has meanwhile reached a high launch cadence, with the two constellations together driving a steady drumbeat of launches through 2026.

What’s Next

The Guowang backbone network is targeting completion by the end of 2026, making the coming months pivotal for China’s constellation ambitions. Whether the program keeps pace with its aggressive schedule — and how regulators manage the orbital and spectrum competition with Starlink — will determine how quickly Beijing can convert a steady drumbeat of launches into a fully operational global broadband network.