In 2025, my country’s satellite Internet constellation networking progress will usher in a relatively large development. Entering 2026, where will my country’s satellite Internet constellation networking progress go? In fact, we can also simply analyze and analyze through the launch data in 2025.
The core factor that determines the progress of satellite Internet constellation networking is the launch capability of the rocket.
From the rocket side, as of December 31, 2025, the “GW” constellation launch missions will use institutional rockets, including Long March 5B, Long March 6A, Long March 8A, and Long March 12. Specifically:
Long March 5B adopts the one-arrow-ten-satellite launch method, with a total of 3 launches and a total of 30 satellites.
The Long March-6A adopts the one-rocket five-satellite launch method, with a total of 5 launches and a total of 25 satellites.
The Long March 8A adopts a nine-satellite launch method, with a total of 7 launches and a total of 63 satellites.
Long March 12 adopts the nine-satellite launch method with one arrow, and has launched a total of 3 times and a total of 27 satellites.
A total of 145 satellites were launched.
As of December 31, 2025, the “G60” constellation launch missions also use institutional rockets, including Long March 6A and Long March 8, mainly Long March 6A. Specifically:
The Long March-6A adopts the one-shot-eighteen-satellite launch method, with a total of 5 launches and a total of 90 satellites.
The Long March 8 adopts the one-shot-eighteen-satellite launch method, with a total of 1 launch and a total of 18 satellites.
A total of 108 satellites were launched.
In 2025, the “G60” constellation will be launched a total of 3 times, with 54 stars. Since most of my country’s launch resources will be allocated to the “GW” constellation in 2025, the launch progress of the “G60” constellation will be relatively slow. However, by 2026, the first-generation network satellites of the “GW” constellation will be almost completed, and some of the launch resources should be given to the “G60” constellation.
Regarding the launch mission in 2026, the rockets that can be used include two parts. One is the rockets within these systems that have been used before, and the other is the new model developed by private rocket companies.
Using historical data as a reference, let’s first take a rough look at the rockets in these systems and make a simple analysis.
Long March 5B:
As of December 31, 2025, Long March 5B has been launched a total of 7 times. Including respectively: 2020: 1 time; 2021: 1 time; 2022: 2 times; 2024: 1 time; 2025: 2 times.
Minimum launch interval: almost 3 months;
Judging from past launch records and the production capacity of Long March 5B, there will not be many launches of Long March 5B in 2026.
Long March No. 6A:
In 2024, the Long March-6A was launched a total of 5 times.
In 2025, the Long March-6A will launch a total of 10 times, 2 of which will be for the “G60” constellation, 5 for the “GW” constellation, and the remaining 3 for other missions. The limit data for the shortest launch interval can basically be maintained at about 20 days.
Judging from past launch records, the Long March 6A should be able to launch up to 15-18 times in 2026, which is already a very extreme data.
Long March 8 Series:
The Long March 8 series mainly includes Long March 8 and Long March 8A.
As of December 31, 2025, Long March 8 has been launched a total of 4 times, completed its first flight on December 22, 2020, and then launched once in 2022, 2024, and 2025.
As of December 31, 2025, the Long March 8A has been launched a total of 6 times, all of which were launched in 2025, because the Long March 8A only completed its first flight on February 11, 2025. When analyzing the frequency of Long March 8A launches in 2026, we must consider both the rocket’s production capacity and the launch site’s support capabilities. Although the Long March 8A can be launched from both the Wenchang Space Launch Site 201 station and the Hainan Shangfa No. 1 station, based on other mission considerations at the Wenchang Space Launch Site, future launches of the Long March 8A will probably mainly focus on the Shangfa No. 1 station. According to the data disclosed by Hainan Commercial Development, the designed annual number of launches for Station 1 is 16, so the annual number of launches of the Long March 8 series in 2026 will not be higher than this number. Moreover, Hainan Commercial Development is also simultaneously building two medium and large liquid launch stations. Based on personnel and support capabilities, Station 1, which will only be officially put into use in 2025, will most likely be difficult to reach saturated design capacity in 2026.
Long March No. 12:
Long March 12 will complete its first launch on November 30, 2024, and will be launched a total of three times in 2025. All of them are satellites of the “GW” constellation. The shortest launch interval is almost one month. According to 2025 data, Long March 12 can fire up to 12 launches in 2026. According to the design capacity of Hainan Commercial Development Station No. 2, the annual saturated launch capacity of Station No. 2 is 16. But there is a problem. Station No. 2 is a universal launch station. According to Hainan Commercial Development’s public data, Station No. 2 can flexibly adapt to a total of 19 different types of rockets from multiple domestic commercial rocket companies. In other words, station No. 2 is not only used for Long March 12 launches. According to the publicity of various private rocket companies, several rocket companies want to complete the first flight in 2026. For those companies that have not built their own launch stations in Jiuquan, if they want to complete the first flight of new models in 2026, they can only go through the sea. Nanshangda No. 2 station, excluding the time occupied by these rockets during their first flight, as well as the manpower, material resources, and time required for the launch of the two new stations of Hainan Commercial Development, Long March 12 can be launched up to 10 times in 2026, which is already very limited.
Other civilian and commercial rockets:
As for other civilian and commercial rockets, the one that is making the fastest progress is Blue Arrow Aerospace’s Suzaku-3, which has completed its first flight of a new model. However, Blue Arrow Aerospace is currently preparing for an IPO and was selected for on-site inspection. This inspection is very important to Blue Arrow Aerospace. It is the first commercial rocket company IP to be accepted since the Shanghai Stock Exchange issued the “Guidelines No. 9 on the Application of Issuance and Listing Review Rules of the Shanghai Stock Exchange – Commercial Rocket Companies Applicable to the Fifth Set of Listing Standards of the Science and Technology Innovation Board” O, Blue Arrow Aerospace’s first order is not a good one, and supervision must be very strict. If something goes wrong, it will affect everyone’s market sentiment towards the entire commercial aerospace industry. The primary and secondary markets will have a relatively large impact at that time, so the inspection results will also have a relatively large impact on the implementation of Blue Arrow Aerospace’s launch plan in 2026. Followed closely by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation’s Lijian-2 and Tianbing Technology’s Tianlong-3. Both rockets were hyped last year and said they would make their first flight before the end of 2025, and both rockets accepted Shanghai Yuanxin’s bid to complete their first flight before the end of 2025, but in the end they did not complete their first flight in 2025. The characteristic of these three companies is that they have their own dedicated work stations in Jiuquan, and the scheduling is relatively flexible. However, even so, if the first flight is completed in 2026, each of them can shoot up to 3 rounds, which is very good. As for other civilian and commercial rockets, since there is no dedicated launch station, they should only be able to make a first launch in 2026 at most.
