China completes eighth launch of its Guowang internet satellite constellation
China yesterday successfully placed 10 more Guowang satellites into orbit, its Long March 5b rocket lifting off from its coastal Wenchang spaceport.
The Guowang constellation, also called Satnet, will eventually have 13,000 satellites in orbit, providing services comparable to Starlink and Kuiper. At present it has completed eight launches since December 2024, placing 67 satellites into orbit.
Because the Long March 5B, China’s most powerful rocket at present, used a new more powerful upper stage, its core stage did not reach orbit, and thus fell harmlessly into the ocean soon after launch.
The leaders in the 2025 launch race:
98 SpaceX (with another Starlink launch scheduled for later today)
44 China
11 Rocket Lab
9 Russia
SpaceX still leads the rest of the world in successful launches, 98 to 77.
China yesterday successfully placed 10 more Guowang satellites into orbit, its Long March 5b rocket lifting off from its coastal Wenchang spaceport.
The Guowang constellation, also called Satnet, will eventually have 13,000 satellites in orbit, providing services comparable to Starlink and Kuiper. At present it has completed eight launches since December 2024, placing 67 satellites into orbit.
Because the Long March 5B, China’s most powerful rocket at present, used a new more powerful upper stage, its core stage did not reach orbit, and thus fell harmlessly into the ocean soon after launch.
The leaders in the 2025 launch race:
98 SpaceX (with another Starlink launch scheduled for later today)
44 China
11 Rocket Lab
9 Russia
SpaceX still leads the rest of the world in successful launches, 98 to 77.