China Launches 26th Batch of Satellite Internet Satellites

China successfully launched the 26th group of its satellite internet low-orbit satellites at 21:32 Beijing time on 23 September 2026, sending the payload into its predetermined orbit from the Hainan Commercial Spacecraft Launch Site in Wenchang, Hainan Province, according to Xinhua News. The mission, carried out with a Long March 8A carrier rocket, was declared a complete success.

The launch is the latest step in the rapid assembly of the Guowang (GW) constellation, a state-backed mega-constellation operated by China Satellite Network Group (China SatNet) that is designed to deliver global broadband coverage—and eventually direct-to-cell connectivity—from low Earth orbit.

A Constellation Built at Speed

The satellites belong to China’s first mega-satellite-internet program, which is designed as two sub-constellations totaling 12,992 satellites: GW-A59, with roughly 6,080 satellites in very low orbits below 500 km, and GW-2, with 6,912 satellites at about 1,145 km, spanning orbital inclinations of 30 to 85 degrees, as tracked on Wikipedia. The program’s first satellite, a high-orbit craft, launched on 29 February 2024, followed by the first low-orbit batch of 10 satellites on 16 December 2024. Some 207 satellites were reported launched and operating as of the article timeframe.

What distinguishes the latest launch is not the payload alone but the pace. The 26th batch followed the 25th by only six days—the previous group launched on 17 September 2026, also from Hainan, aboard a Long March 12 rocket. That near-weekly rhythm reflects a deliberate shift from sporadic demonstrations to industrialized, high-frequency deployment.

From Single Launches to an Assembly Line

Analysts describe the transition as a threshold moment for China’s commercial space sector. East Money Research Center noted that the launch marked “another victory in scaled low-orbit constellation assembly,” with institutions concluding that domestic low-orbit satellite internet has entered “a stage of high-frequency batch networking.”

The constellation’s operator relies on a widening set of rockets and manufacturers. The Long March 8A used on 23 September is a newer medium-lift commercial vehicle that first flew in February 2025; other batches have flown on Long March 5B, 6A and 12 rockets, with satellites built by the China Academy of Space Technology, the CAS Innovation Academy for Microsatellites and the private manufacturer Galaxy Space.

Hua Yuan Securities described a sector-wide shift “from sporadic launches and single-point validation to a phase of high-frequency batch, industrialized networking,” pointing to parallel land and sea launches and multiple private rockets executing in succession as markers of scaled deployment.

Strategic and Economic Stakes

Low-orbit satellite internet is viewed as a core component of 6G’s integrated space-air-ground network, making control of orbital slots and spectrum a first-mover race. China’s policy framework has moved in step: the 15th Five-Year Plan calls for accelerating low-orbit satellite internet networking, and the 2026 Government Work Report named satellite internet development a key annual task. Guidance from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology targets more than 10 million satellite communication users by 2030. As East Money reported, the GW constellation is also expected to introduce a direct-to-cell satellite communication model.

China is not building alone in this race. Shanghai’s Qianfan constellation, a separate low-orbit system, launched two batches in two days in mid-September, bringing its in-orbit total to 256 satellites. The Qianfan program is targeting 324 satellites in orbit by the end of 2026, a milestone that would enable initial global service and commercial operations.

The market has taken notice. Roughly 321 A-share stocks are classified under the commercial space concept, with a combined market value of about 6.15 trillion yuan, East Money reported. Yet the sector remains uneven: of those stocks, 227 declined year-to-date while 94 rose, underscoring that launch headlines do not translate uniformly into returns.

The Value Lies in Weaving the Web

For the companies building the ground segment, the real prize may lie less in launching satellites than in connecting and commercializing them. Wu Minhua, chairman of Zhenyou Technology, told 21st Century Business Herald that China’s commercial space industry is at a critical inflection point—and that the durable economic value sits in “weaving the web” and “using the web,” not merely in firing satellites into orbit.

“The market does not lack demand,” Wu said, arguing that once the constellation provides sufficiently strong and broad coverage, applications spanning maritime, low-altitude aviation, emergency response and direct-to-cell service can follow immediately. His firm has supplied core network systems for satellite communications and reported that its satellite internet business accounted for about 7.15% of revenue in the first three quarters of 2025.

Chinese firms are also pursuing an export model distinct from that of SpaceX’s Starlink, pitching sovereign, customizable network infrastructure to foreign governments and operators rather than consumer broadband subscriptions.

What to Watch

The immediate question is whether the launch cadence can be sustained—and at what cost. As satellite counts climb, so do demands on manufacturing capacity, ground infrastructure and spectrum coordination, while a crowded orbital environment raises long-term questions about debris and collision risk.

With both the Guowang and Qianfan constellations accelerating, China’s low-orbit build-out has moved firmly into a phase of scaled deployment. The next milestones to watch are Qianfan’s push toward 324 satellites in orbit by year-end and any further acceleration in Guowang’s batch launches—signals of how quickly the two flagship systems can turn orbital ambition into working networks.