China Launches 27 Web Satellites as Nationwide Megaconstellation Reaches Polar Milestones
China efficiently launched 27 low-Earth orbit web satellites early Saturday morning aboard a Lengthy March 12 rocket from the Hainan Industrial House Launch Web site, marking one other milestone in Beijing’s effort to assemble a sovereign international satellite tv for pc constellation.
The rocket lifted off at 3:27 a.m. native time, putting the twenty seventh batch of satellites for China’s nationwide satellite tv for pc web undertaking into their designated orbits. Developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Expertise, the 62-meter Lengthy March 12 represents China’s largest single-core launch automobile, able to delivering no less than 12 metric tons to low-Earth orbit and 6 tons to a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit. The rocket incorporates a streamlined horizontal meeting, testing, and transport operational workflow designed to considerably scale back launch pad preparation instances.
Saturday’s mission follows the Sept. 23 launch of the twenty sixth satellite tv for pc batch aboard a Lengthy March 8A rocket from the identical facility in Wenchang. Operated by Hainan Worldwide Industrial Aerospace Launch Co. Ltd., the Hainan Industrial House Launch Web site was constructed in 878 days to function China’s major hub for high-frequency business and state constellation deployments.
The payloads belong to China’s nationwide GW megaconstellation, a state-directed undertaking managed by China Satellite tv for pc Community Group that envisions a complete deployment of 12,992 satellites. The community operates by way of a layered structure: the GW-A59 sub-constellation stationed under 590 kilometers supplies high-capacity, low-latency broadband companies, whereas the GW-A2 sub-constellation deployed at an altitude of 1,145 kilometers handles wide-area protection and system redundancy. Each orbital tiers incorporate Ka-band payloads and inter-satellite laser hyperlinks.
The orbital deployment comes as China accelerates real-world testing of its satellite tv for pc communications community. Throughout China’s sixteenth Arctic scientific expedition in 2026, the GW constellation efficiently accomplished in-orbit cross-polar communication trials, conducting real-time video calls throughout the polar areas with end-to-end latency underneath one second and peak transmission speeds reaching 30 megabits per second.
