China Flies Four Different Rockets to Orbit in 45 Hours, Two of Them Private
Four Chinese orbital rockets lifted off in a 45-hour span from September 15 to September 16, flying from three different launch sites and delivering their payloads successfully. Two of the four vehicles were operated by private companies, a sign of the growing diversity and capability of China's launch sector. The flurry began Tuesday at 2:26 a.m. EDT, when Beijing company LandSpace sent a Zhuque-2E rocket aloft from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The vehicle, which burns l
OST Staff · September 21, 2026
Four Chinese orbital rockets lifted off in a 45-hour span from September 15 to September 16, flying from three different launch sites and delivering their payloads successfully. Two of the four vehicles were operated by private companies, a sign of the growing diversity and capability of China's launch sector.
The flurry began Tuesday at 2:26 a.m. EDT, when Beijing company LandSpace sent a Zhuque-2E rocket aloft from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The vehicle, which burns liquid methane and liquid oxygen, carried 10 satellites to low Earth orbit for the Qianfan broadband megaconstellation, a network planned to eventually consist of about 15,000 active spacecraft.
Nine more Qianfan satellites went up at 6:00 p.m. EDT Tuesday atop a Gravity-1 rocket, launched from a barge off the coast of Shanghai. The Gravity-1, operated by Orienspace, is the world's most powerful solid rocket and is known for its squat, stubby profile. Next came a Long March 12, flown by the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. It lifted off Wednesday at 8:32 p.m. EDT from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan island, carrying nine spacecraft for another Chinese LEO broadband megaconstellation, SatNet, envisioned to hold about 13,000 satellites.
A Kuaizhou-11 rocket closed out the sequence roughly two hours later, launching from Jiuquan at 10:40 p.m. EDT. Operated by a subsidiary of the state-run China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, it carried two Earth-observing radar satellites for the Chinese company Spacety. All four missions succeeded.
The four launches did not give a full picture of China's launch ambitions, however, because none of the rockets attempted a landing. The nation is working to develop reusable rockets and has already made considerable progress. In the last 2.5 months, LandSpace's Zhuque-3 and CASC's Long March 10B have each successfully landed their first stages during orbital missions.
The burst underscores the country's rising launch tempo and shows its commercial launch sector maturing in parallel with state efforts. The presence of two commercial launchers in the mix is the more meaningful signal for anyone tracking the cadence race, an indication that the story is no longer solely about state rockets.
No Chinese first stage has flown multiple orbital missions so far, but that milestone could be reached fairly soon.