{"id":91628,"date":"2026-11-03T11:50:34","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T03:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/?p=91628"},"modified":"2026-11-03T11:50:34","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T03:50:34","slug":"chinas-lijian-2-launches-18-qianfan-satellites-on-second-flight-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/chinas-lijian-2-launches-18-qianfan-satellites-on-second-flight-video\/","title":{"rendered":"China\u2019s Lijian-2 Launches 18 Qianfan Satellites on Second Flight (Video)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>China launched the Lijian-2 Y2 carrier rocket at 8:15 a.m. Beijing Time on November 3, 2026, from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Testing Area. The liquid-fueled rocket placed 18 Qianfan Polar Group 21 satellites into their planned orbit, completing the vehicle\u2019s second flight and its first large-scale satellite internet deployment mission.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 100%; max-width: 989px; margin: 0 auto; aspect-ratio: 16 \/ 9;\"><iframe style=\"display: block; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 0;\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7y1HsPj3oM4\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>The mission added another medium-lift commercial rocket to the launch fleet supporting China\u2019s expanding low Earth orbit broadband infrastructure. Previous Qianfan deployment missions had used Long March rockets and commercial vehicles including the Zhuque-2 and Gravity-1.<\/p>\n<h2>A New Multi-Satellite Deployment System<\/h2>\n<p>The mission marked the first use on Lijian-2 of a multi-satellite stack release system designed for high-density constellation launches. Rather than unlocking and deploying the 18 satellites through a sequence of independent mechanisms, the system released the stacked spacecraft in a single unlocking operation before controlled inertial separation.<\/p>\n<p>The approach reduces the number of separation mechanisms and interfaces, lowering system mass and limiting the number of individual deployment events that must occur successfully. It also places greater demands on separation-dynamics modelling to ensure that the satellites disperse without recontact.<\/p>\n<p>Lijian-2 used a two-burn second-stage profile for the mission. Tank-bottom anti-slosh and propellant-accumulation devices were optimized for the extended coast phase, while a pulse-width-modulated variable-thrust system was used to manage propellant settling.<\/p>\n<p>The mission also incorporated optimized ground gas and electrical interfaces, automated testing and fault diagnosis, stage passivation and upper-stage disposal measures. These changes were intended to shorten launch preparations and improve the rocket\u2019s suitability for higher-frequency constellation missions.<\/p>\n<h2>Lijian-2 Builds on Successful Debut<\/h2>\n<p>Lijian-2, also known internationally as Kinetica-2 and designated PR-2, is a medium-lift liquid-propellant rocket developed for satellite constellation deployment, large spacecraft launches and low-cost space cargo missions.<\/p>\n<p>The rocket is 53 meters tall, has a liftoff mass of 625 metric tons and produces 753 metric tons-force of liftoff thrust. Its 3.35-meter-diameter common booster cores support a 4.2-meter payload fairing. The vehicle is designed to carry 8 metric tons to a 500-kilometer Sun-synchronous orbit or 12 metric tons to low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n<p>Lijian-2 is China\u2019s first launch vehicle based on a common booster core architecture. The design uses structurally similar propulsion modules across the first-stage core and side boosters, supporting component commonality, standardized production and future configuration changes.<\/p>\n<p>The rocket made its inaugural flight on March 30, 2026, from the same launch area. That mission delivered three spacecraft, including the 4.2-ton Qingzhou prototype cargo spacecraft and two smaller satellites. The first flight validated the common-core configuration, large-diameter smooth-wall propellant tanks and a lateral push-off separation system for the payload fairing.<\/p>\n<h2>Qianfan Fleet Reaches 274 Satellites<\/h2>\n<p>The Qianfan Constellation, also branded internationally as the Spacesail Constellation, is developed and operated by Shanghai Yuanxin Satellite Technology. The low Earth orbit network uses Ku and Q\/V-band frequencies to provide broadband communications and internet access.<\/p>\n<p>Shanghai authorities reported that 256 Qianfan satellites had been launched before the November 3 mission. The addition of the 18 Polar Group 21 satellites therefore raises the constellation\u2019s launched total to 274 satellites.<\/p>\n<p>The program is targeting 324 satellites by the end of 2026, a fleet size expected to support initial commercial operations. Its longer-term architecture calls for more than 15,000 satellites providing global broadband connectivity and additional integrated communications services.<\/p>\n<p>The successful deployment demonstrated Lijian-2\u2019s ability to carry and separate a full batch of broadband satellites. It also expanded the range of launch vehicles available for China\u2019s increasingly launch-intensive low Earth orbit constellation programs.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-91634 size-full\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Lijian-2-with-Qianfan-Satellites.webp\" alt=\"Lijian-2 with Qianfan Satellites\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" srcset=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Lijian-2-with-Qianfan-Satellites.webp 1080w, \/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Lijian-2-with-Qianfan-Satellites-300x169.webp 300w, \/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Lijian-2-with-Qianfan-Satellites-1024x576.webp 1024w, \/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Lijian-2-with-Qianfan-Satellites-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>China\u2019s expanding satellite and launch capacity is creating more options for international customers planning new spacecraft and constellation projects. STARPATH GLOBAL provides competitively priced satellite platforms, payloads, and assembly, integration and testing (AIT) services from China. Organizations evaluating a mission can <a href=\"https:\/\/starpath.global\/contact\">discuss their technical and delivery requirements with our team<\/a> to identify a suitable solution from initial configuration planning through integration and testing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>China launched the Lijian-2 Y2 carrier rocket at 8:15 a.m. Beijing Time on November 3, 2026, from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Testing Area. The liquid-fueled rocket placed 18 Qianfan Polar Group 21 satellites into their planned orbit, completing the vehicle\u2019s second flight and its first large-scale satellite internet deployment mission. The mission added another [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":91633,"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":[135,291,7858,310,7825,5744,10461,4362],"class_list":["post-91628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-china","tag-commercial-space","tag-kinetica-2","tag-launch-vehicles","tag-lijian-2","tag-low-earth-orbit","tag-qianfan-constellation","tag-satellite-internet"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91628"}],"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\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91628"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91628\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91637,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91628\/revisions\/91637"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}