![\"China\u2019s](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Chinas-Commercial-Space-Sector-2026-Mid-Year-Review-scaled.webp\")
<\/p>\n
China\u2019s position within the global market reveals an even clearer trend.<\/p>\n
The number of space launches worldwide increased by nine year on year, from 145 in the first half of 2025 to 154 in the same period of 2026. China accounted for the entire net increase.<\/p>\n
By comparison, the overall US launch cadence remained broadly stable. The United States completed 95 launches during the first half, one fewer than in the same period last year. Specifically:<\/p>\n
- \n
- SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 has entered a mature operational phase. Although it continues to launch at a high frequency, its capacity for further growth appears limited. Falcon 9 completed 76 launches during the period, five fewer than a year earlier.<\/li>\n
- Starship remains in flight testing and is still far from entering commercial launch operations.<\/li>\n
- An explosion involving New Glenn caused severe damage to its launch pad, making a return to flight within the year highly unlikely.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The US space industry appears to have reached a near-term launch-capacity ceiling, while its next generation of rockets has yet to provide operational capacity. As a result, the center of growth in the global space industry is shifting increasingly toward China.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s ability to capture this new demand is being driven primarily by the large-scale deployment of two low-Earth orbit broadband constellations: the GW national satellite internet constellation and the Qianfan constellation.<\/p>\n
During the first half:<\/p>\n
- \n
- The GW constellation completed five launch campaigns involving 41 satellites.<\/li>\n
- The Qianfan constellation completed six launch campaigns involving 92 satellites.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Together, the two constellations accounted for approximately 60% of all satellites placed into orbit by China and around 65% of its commercial satellite total. They were the most direct drivers of growth in both launch frequency and the number of satellites deployed.<\/p>\n
Based on satellite launch trends in recent years, China is projected to place approximately 550 satellites into orbit during the full year of 2026.<\/p>\n
2. Rocket Launches<\/h2>\n
China conducted 44 rocket launches in the first half of 2026.<\/p>\n
Launches by Propellant Type<\/h3>\n
Solid-propellant rockets were launched 10 times, an increase of 67% year on year, while liquid-propellant rockets were launched 34 times, up 17%.<\/p>\n
The liquid-propellant launches comprised:<\/p>\n
- \n
- 19 liquid oxygen\u2013kerosene rocket launches, 10 more than in the same period last year;<\/li>\n
- 12 launches using storable liquid propellants, seven fewer year on year;<\/li>\n
- Two liquid oxygen\u2013methane rocket launches, one more than a year earlier; and<\/li>\n
- One liquid oxygen\u2013liquid hydrogen rocket launch, unchanged from the same period last year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Commercial Launch Missions<\/h3>\n
A total of 16 rocket models participated in 30 commercial launch missions during the first half, placing 210 satellites into orbit. The number of commercial missions increased by 50% year on year.<\/p>\n
The 16 rocket models were operated by nine companies or organizations. The three leading commercial launch contractors were:<\/p>\n
- \n
- China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, with five missions;<\/li>\n
- Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, with nine missions; and<\/li>\n
- China Rocket Co., Ltd., with five missions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
All three are state-owned or centrally administered enterprises and institutions within China\u2019s established space sector.<\/p>\n
Commercial Launch Vehicles<\/h3>\n
Ten commercial rocket models carried out a total of 17 launches during the period, placing 84 satellites into orbit. The number of satellites launched aboard commercial rockets increased by 62% year on year.<\/p>\n
Launch Sites<\/h3>\n
China\u2019s 44 launches were distributed across seven domestic launch sites:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Oriental Spaceport: four launches;<\/li>\n
- Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone: eight launches;<\/li>\n
- Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site: seven launches;<\/li>\n
- Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center: nine launches;<\/li>\n
- Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center: seven launches;<\/li>\n
- Wenchang Space Launch Site: four launches; and<\/li>\n
- Xichang Satellite Launch Center: five launches.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Reusable Rocket Development<\/h3>\n
China\u2019s reusable launch vehicle sector entered an intensive testing phase in the first half of 2026.<\/p>\n
Three rockets\u2014the Tianlong-3, Kinetica-2 and Long March 12B\u2014completed their maiden flights, although none attempted the vertical recovery of a first-stage booster.<\/p>\n
A first-stage vehicle from the Long March 10 family completed a maritime splashdown and recovery test, laying a solid foundation for the first net-based recovery attempt by the future Long March 10B.<\/p>\n
3. Commercial Satellites<\/h2>\n
A total of 219 Chinese satellites reached orbit during the first half of 2026, including 206 commercial satellites, representing year-on-year growth of 57%.<\/p>\n
1. Satellite Types: Communications Satellites Dominate<\/h3>\n
Among the commercial satellites placed into orbit:<\/p>\n
- \n
- 137 were communications satellites, accounting for 67% of the total;<\/li>\n
- 18 were navigation satellites;<\/li>\n
- 31 were remote-sensing satellites;<\/li>\n
- 13 were technology-demonstration satellites; and<\/li>\n
- One each was a space-computing satellite, an in-orbit servicing satellite and a cargo spacecraft.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The figures show that the deployment of China\u2019s two major low-Earth orbit communications constellations remains the primary driver of growth in the country\u2019s commercial satellite sector.<\/p>\n
2. Satellite Assembly: Shanghai Emerges as a Manufacturing Hub<\/h3>\n
Commercial satellite assembly, integration and testing, or AIT, became increasingly concentrated among leading manufacturers during the period.<\/p>\n
Shanghai Gesi Information Technology, serving as an assembly contractor for the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, completed the assembly of 87 commercial satellites. This represented 42% of all commercial satellites placed into orbit during the first half\u2014more than the combined output of the companies ranked second through sixth.<\/p>\n
3. Constellation Deployment: GW and Qianfan Launch 143 Satellites<\/h3>\n
The GW and Qianfan constellations launched a combined 143 satellites in the first half of 2026, including 133 operational constellation satellites and 10 technology-demonstration satellites.<\/p>\n
These satellites accounted for 69% of China\u2019s commercial satellite launches during the period. The combined total was 78 higher than in the same period last year, representing growth of 122%.<\/p>\n
Based on this growth rate, the Qianfan and GW constellations are projected to launch more than 400 satellites between them over the full year.<\/p>\n
4. Financing Activity<\/h2>\n
China\u2019s commercial space sector recorded 102 financing deals in the first half of 2026, nearly double the 54 deals completed during the same period of 2025.<\/p>\n
Disclosed financing totaled approximately RMB 17.709 billion, far exceeding the RMB 2.833 billion recorded a year earlier. Capital is flowing into the commercial space sector at both a higher frequency and on a substantially larger scale.<\/p>\n
Investment Across the Value Chain<\/h3>\n
Financing covered the entire industrial value chain, including rocket manufacturing, satellite manufacturing, satellite operations, satellite applications, supporting services and in-orbit servicing.<\/p>\n
Rocket and satellite manufacturing remained the dominant investment targets. Together, the two segments accounted for approximately 66% of all financing deals and around 80% of total disclosed funding.<\/p>\n
This indicates that capital remains heavily concentrated in the space industry\u2019s core manufacturing activities. In-orbit servicing emerged as a notable growth area following several large financing deals, while the downstream applications market remains at an early stage of development.<\/p>\n
Financing by Stage<\/h3>\n
Early-stage financing, comprising seed and angel rounds, accounted for 37 deals totaling RMB 1.221 billion, or approximately 36% of all transactions.<\/p>\n
Growth-stage financing, comprising Series A and Series B rounds, recorded 39 deals totaling RMB 3.72 billion, representing approximately 38% of the total number of transactions.<\/p>\n
Mid- and late-stage financing, comprising Series C, Series D and strategic investments, included 14 deals totaling RMB 10.088 billion. Series D funding was boosted significantly by a single RMB 5.037 billion financing round completed by iSpace, the largest individual transaction of the period.<\/p>\n
A further 12 deals with undisclosed financing stages raised a combined RMB 2.68 billion.<\/p>\n
Overall, early- and growth-stage companies accounted for the overwhelming majority of transactions, reflecting broad investor interest in both start-ups and expanding businesses. Although mid- and late-stage deals were fewer in number, their average size was substantially larger.<\/p>\n
Leading companies are using major financing rounds to build competitive barriers rapidly, underscoring an increasingly visible stratification within the industry.<\/p>\n
Regional Distribution<\/h3>\n
Commercial space financing covered 15 provincial-level regions across China during the first half of 2026, although investment remained highly concentrated geographically.<\/p>\n
Beijing ranked far ahead of all other regions, recording 41 deals totaling RMB 10.069 billion\u201457% of all disclosed financing. Supported by its concentration of aerospace research institutes and industrial supply-chain resources, Beijing retained its position as China\u2019s leading commercial space hub, with its regional clustering advantages continuing to strengthen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China maintained a high launch cadence in the first half of 2026, while its commercial space sector built on the growth momentum of 2025 and continued to strengthen its industrial fundamentals. By the end of June, China had conducted 44 space launches and placed a total of 223 satellites into their designated orbits. The commercial […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9826,135,291,25,9931,136,442],"class_list":["post-50016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-9826","tag-china","tag-commercial-space","tag-launch","tag-review","tag-rocket","tag-satellites"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50016"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50016"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50047,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50016\/revisions\/50047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}