China launches 18 more satellites for Spacesail Constellation

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A modified Long March-6 carrier rocket, carrying the satellite group for Spacesail Constellation, lifts off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, north China's Shanxi Province, May 12, 2026. /CMG

China launched a satellite group for commercial constellation from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province on Tuesday.

A modified Long March-6 carrier rocket, carrying the satellite group, blasted off at 7:59 p.m. and has sent the group into the preset orbit successfully.

The group of 18 satellites, joining exisiting 126 satellites in orbit, is part of the Spacesail Constellation, a commercial Chinese low-orbit satellite network that is expected to largely boost telecommunication with up to 15,000 satellites eventually placed in orbit.

The modified Long March-6 carrier rocket, developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, can support single, paired and stacked launches. It is capable of sending at least 4.5 tonnes of payloads to a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 700 kilometers.

The launch marked the 642nd flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.

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