In recent years, with the continuous breakthroughs in my country’s aerospace technology and the diversification of business models, China’s satellite constellation construction is ushering in explosive development, and multi-field constellations are constantly strengthening my country’s “air and space information” capabilities.
01
How many constellations are there?
According to Nihao Space statistics, China currently has a total of 100 registered satellite constellations, including 88 commercial aerospace projects and 12 national strategic projects. As shown in the figure: According to satellite types, we divide these satellite constellations into the following six categories: 1. Communication constellations: Qianfan Constellation, GW Constellation, HONGHU-3, Space-based Internet Global Low Orbit Communication Constellation, Astronomical Constellation, Apocalypse Constellation, Smart Skynet Constellation, Xiangyun Constellation, Aurora Constellation, Kunlun Constellation, Little Spider Web, Ladybug Series Satellite, Tiantong No. 1, Shengteng Star Network Constellation, Xingyun Constellation, Tianlian No. 1, Earth-Moon Space Samsung Constellation 2. Navigation constellations: Microspace Satellite Constellation, Dawan Zhitong, Beidou Constellation 3. Remote sensing constellations: Three-Body Computing Constellation, Qinling Small Satellite Constellation, Taihu Constellation, Ling Que Constellation, Tiansuan Constellation, Oriental Wisdom Eye, Star Times Constellation, Xiguang No. 1, MCMI Constellation, Jilin No. 1, Tai Planet Constellation, Nuwa Constellation, Zhuzhou Constellation, Golden Bauhinia Constellation, Celestial Satellite Constellation, Celestial Constellation, Micro Scenery No. 1 constellation, Gaojing series satellites, Tianfu constellation, Qilu-Golden Bauhinia satellite constellation, Maritime Silk Road constellation, Guozhi Henghaonian agricultural remote sensing satellite constellation, Neptune constellation, Silk Road satellite constellation, 36 Tiangang constellation, Zhuhai No. 1, future carbon star plan, heavy star constellation, Zhongzi constellation, Silk Road sky map constellation, AI RSAT constellation, Qilu satellite constellation, ring sky constellation, Tianzhi series satellite, Haotian constellation, four-symbol constellation, Hainan satellite constellation, SmartSAT constellation, carbon satellite constellation, double super constellation, ice and snow constellation, Beijing No. 3 series satellite, Zhangye SAR satellite constellation, Mianyang constellation, Daoda constellation , Yellow River Satellite Constellation, TEE Constellation, Anxi Tieguanyin Constellation, Huashui Constellation, Qilian Series Constellation, Yunnan Intelligent Constellation, Ultra-Low Orbit Real 3D Satellite Constellation, China Transportation Constellation, Gaofen Constellation, China Ocean Satellite, Environmental Disaster Reduction Series Satellite, Ziyu-3, Zhejiang Ocean Satellite, Land Exploration One 4. Meteorological constellations: Commercial Infrared Constellation, Yunyao Meteorological Constellation, Tianmu-1, Yinglong Satellite 5. Hybrid constellations: Low-orbit satellite constellation plan, Geely Future Travel Constellation, Chutian Constellation, Zhongan Guotong-1, Xingchi Plan Constellation, Inspur Light and Sound Constellation, Pingtian Constellation, UniverseXsat Special Intelligent Constellation, Qiancheng Constellation 6. Other constellations: Look Up Constellation, Tianqin Project, Tai Chi Project, NEO series space resource mining constellations, Guizhou Constellation, Xunyin Constellation, Horgos Satellite Constellation, Practical Satellite
02
Constellation construction progress
According to the construction progress of satellite constellations, we divide them into three categories: networking completed, networking in progress, and test satellites launched but there is no follow-up progress or no more information has been disclosed. 1. Networking completed (11) Beidou constellation: Beidou satellite constellation uses three types of orbit satellites: geosynchronous orbit (GEO), inclined geosynchronous orbit (IGSO) and medium earth orbit (MEO) to form a hybrid navigation system, covering Beidou 1, 2 and 3 series. Data from the Test, Evaluation and Research Center of the China Satellite Navigation System Management Office show that there are currently 24 Beidou satellites operating in orbit. China Ocean Satellite: China Ocean Satellite is built under the leadership of the State Oceanic Administration and focuses on marine environment monitoring. Up to now, 13 satellites including Haiyang 1, Haiyang 2, Sino-French Ocean Satellite and Haiyang 3 have been put into operation. Little Spider Web: “Little Spider Web” is China’s first low-orbit broadband communication test constellation built by Galaxy Aerospace. It consists of 8 high-performance low-orbit broadband communication satellites, and all of them have been networked. Ladybug series satellites: The Ladybug series satellites are jointly developed and operated by Zhongke Tianta and Jiutian MSI. They consist of 7 small satellites and were launched into orbit on December 7, 2018 on a Chang Erding rocket. Among them, the main star “Ladybug 1” is a 100-kilogram-class satellite with a design life of 2 years. The others include 3 6U CubeSats and 3 3U CubeSats with a design life of only 1 year. Tianlian-1: Tianlian-1 is the first-generation geosynchronous orbit data relay satellite system independently developed by the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology. It consists of 5 satellites and has now achieved full-constellation network operation. Environmental Disaster Reduction Series Satellites: The Environmental Disaster Reduction Series Satellites are organized and constructed under the leadership of the Ministry of Emergency Management and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. The constellation includes the Environmental Disaster Reduction-2 A and B satellites and the Environmental Disaster Reduction-2 05 and 06 satellites. All satellites have been launched and are operating stably in orbit. Three-star constellation in the Earth-Moon space: The Three-star constellation in the Earth-Moon space is led by the Space Application Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The goal is to launch three test satellites DRO-A, DRO-B and DRO-L. On February 3, 2024, DRO-L successfully entered sun-synchronous orbit. On March 13, DRO-A/B failed to enter orbit after launch, but successfully entered the intended orbit after an “extreme rescue” of about 8.5 million kilometers. On August 30, the three satellites successfully completed in-orbit deployment. Ziyu-3: Ziyu-3 is a civilian high-resolution optical stereo mapping satellite independently developed by my country. It has realized the networking of Ziyu-3 satellites 01 to 03 and is operating stably in orbit. Tiantong-1: Tiantong-1 is my country’s first independently controllable satellite mobile communication system operated by China Telecom. On January 20, 2021, the Tiantong-1 satellite 03 was successfully launched and completed the network deployment together with the Tiantong-1 satellite 01 and 02. Anxi Tieguanyin Constellation: Anxi Tieguanyin Constellation is operated by Zhongke Xinqiao. Currently, Anxi Tieguanyin 1 and 2 satellites have been successfully launched and networked. Land Exploration 1: Land Exploration 1 was developed by the Shanghai Aerospace Technology Research Institute, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Star A and Star B were successfully launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on January 26 and February 27, 2022 respectively, and successfully completed on-orbit networking and testing. 2. Networking (60) Qianfan Constellation: Also known as G60 Starlink, it is a low-orbit Internet broadband communication satellite constellation operated by Yuanxin Satellite. The constellation plans to launch a total of about 15,000 satellites and is expected to complete the deployment of 648 satellites in 2025. So far, 90 satellites have been successfully launched. GW Constellation: Also known as the State Grid Constellation, it is a broadband Internet satellite constellation funded and constructed by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and operated by China Star Network. The constellation plans to deploy a total of 12,992 satellites, covering two sub-constellations GW-A59 and GW-A2. According to the plan, about 260 satellites will be launched in 2025. So far, 28 satellites have been successfully launched. Geely’s future travel constellation: Geely’s future travel constellation is a low-orbit communication constellation with a scale of 5,676 satellites planned by Spacetime Daoyu, a commercial aerospace company under Geely Holding Group. It has completed launch deployment in 3 orbital planes, with 30 satellites in orbit, which can achieve 24-hour global coverage of 90% of the world. It is expected to complete the first phase of 72 satellite network construction by the end of 2025. Lingque Constellation: Lingque Constellation is a fully autonomous, high-time resolution real-time Earth observation remote sensing commercial satellite constellation released by Zero Gravity Laboratory. The constellation plans to deploy 132 satellites in early 2025 and later expand to 378 satellites. At present, the technology verification stars Lingque 1 A and B, and Qingcheng 1 (Ling Que 3 01) have been launched. Tiansuan Constellation: Tiansuan Constellation is an open and open source aerospace computing on-orbit test platform initiated by the team of Professor Wang Shangguang of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. The overall plan is divided into three phases of construction: 6 satellites will be deployed in the first phase, 24 satellites will be deployed in the second phase, and the number will be expanded to 300 in the third phase. At present, all six satellites in the first phase have been successfully launched, and the construction of 24 satellites in the second phase has also started. Oriental Eyes: Oriental Eyes is a space-time intelligent constellation consisting of 252 satellites operated by Land and Sea Space. It is planned to be fully completed in 2032. It will realize multi-load collaborative work, take into account land, ocean, day and night, and have all-day, all-weather, global observation capabilities. Currently, two satellites, Luojia-301 (Yantai-1) and Dongfang Huiyan Gaofen-01 (Yantai-2), have been launched. Microspace satellite constellation: Microspace satellite constellation, also known as Microspace low-orbit satellite system, is a low-orbit satellite system developed and constructed by Future Navigation Company. It plans to deploy 240 satellites and is expected to complete the launch of 120 satellites around the end of 2026 to realize system satellite networking and application. On January 13, 2025, the first batch of 10 networking satellites was successfully put into orbit aboard the Jielong 3 solid launch vehicle. Zhongan Guotong Constellation: Zhongan Guotong Constellation is an independent and controllable aerial constellation network built by Zhongan Guotong. It plans to complete the launch and deployment of 198 low-orbit satellites by 2025. On April 27, 2021, the first satellite Zhong’an Guotong-1 was successfully launched into orbit aboard the Long March-6 carrier rocket. Star Times Constellation: Star Times Constellation is developed and operated by China Star Aerospace. It is my country’s first “artificial intelligence constellation” with a total planned scale of 192 satellites. As of now, 18 satellites are in orbit. China Transportation Constellation: The China Transportation Constellation is planned to consist of 192 satellites. The construction is divided into three phases: the first phase of rapid deployment before 2025, the second phase of optimization and upgrading before 2030, and the third phase of multiple coverage phases before 2035. A total of 48 satellites of Hede Aerospace’s Skywalker constellation have been integrated into the China Transportation Constellation, and as the main construction unit of the constellation, it plans to complete the deployment of all 48 satellites by 2025. As of now, China’s transportation constellation has 4 test satellites and 5 operational satellites in orbit. Xiguang 1: The Xiguang 1 hyperspectral remote sensing satellite constellation is developed by China-Korea Xiguang Aerospace. It plans to deploy a total of 158 satellites, including 108 general-purpose hyperspectral remote sensing satellites, 40 dual-carbon monitoring hyperspectral satellites, and 10 functional hyperspectral satellites. It is committed to building my country’s largest and most comprehensive hyperspectral remote sensing satellite network. Currently, 9 satellites are successfully operating in orbit. Jilin-1: It is a high-performance optical remote sensing satellite constellation built by Changguang Satellite Company. It is planned to consist of 138 satellites, covering video, high-resolution, wide-band, infrared, multi-spectral and other series. As of now, 117 satellites are in orbit, forming the world’s largest sub-meter commercial remote sensing satellite constellation. Qinling small satellite constellation: The Qinling small satellite constellation is a remote sensing satellite constellation launched by Xi’an Aviation Investment. It is planned to consist of 128 satellites and will be constructed in two phases. It is also planned to expand to 2,000 small satellites in the future. So far, 8 satellites have been successfully launched and operating in orbit. Nuwa Constellation: The Nuwa Constellation is planned under the leadership of Aerospace Ambition. It plans to deploy a total of 114 satellites in two phases, including 54 in the first phase and 60 in the second phase. Once completed, it will form the world’s largest radar remote sensing satellite network. As of now, there are 12 satellites in orbit, including 4 X-SAR satellites of Hongtu-1 and 8 X-SAR satellites of Hongtu-2. Star Pool Project Constellation: The Star Pool Project is an integrated communication, navigation and remote satellite constellation launched by Elliptical Space. It is planned to complete the first phase of networking in 2026 and complete the overall construction in 2027. Currently, three satellites are successfully operating in orbit. Golden Bauhinia Constellation: The Golden Bauhinia Constellation is the first remote sensing satellite constellation project launched by Intercontinental Aerospace in Hong Kong. It plans to launch 112 satellites, and so far 12 satellites have been completed in orbit. Inspur Light and Sound Constellation: Inspur Light and Sound Constellation is a large-scale remote sensing satellite constellation integrating communication, guidance, remoteness and computing jointly built by Inspur Group and Wuhan University. It is composed of more than 100 high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites. On May 21, 2023, the first satellite Luojia 2 (Guangyin 2) 01 was successfully launched into orbit on the Long March 2C carrier rocket. Celestial Constellation: Celestial Constellation is a satellite constellation composed of 96 light, small, high-performance synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites released by China Electronics Technology 38, which can be deployed in multiple orbital planes. On February 27, 2022, the first Chaohu-1 SAR satellite was successfully launched into orbit on a Changba rocket. Yunyao Meteorological Constellation: Yunyao Meteorological Constellation is led by Yunyao Aerospace. It plans to deploy 90 independently developed meteorological satellites, covering 72 sun-synchronous orbit satellites and 18 low-inclination orbit satellites. So far, 46 satellites have been successfully launched, and another 30 are planned to be launched in 2025. The launch mission of the remaining 14 satellites will be completed in 2026, and the construction of the constellation network will be fully completed. Xingyun Constellation: Xingyun Constellation is an aerospace project planned by Aerospace Xingyun Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the Fourth Academy of Aerospace Science and Industry. The project plans to launch 80 Xingyun small satellites to build China’s first low-orbit narrow-band communication satellite constellation. Up to now, 2 satellites have been completed in orbit. Tianfu Constellation: Tianfu Constellation is a light and small high-resolution optical remote sensing satellite operated by Huantian Intelligence. It is also my country’s first smart city-themed satellite constellation. The constellation plans to deploy 50 satellites, and a total of 10 Dongpo 01-10 satellites have been successfully launched in 2022. It is reported that Huantian Intelligence originally planned to launch four more high-resolution optical remote sensing satellites and one SAR radar satellite in 2024 to strengthen the service capabilities of the Tianfu constellation, but these satellites have not yet been launched. Practice satellites: Practice satellites are an important satellite series used for scientific exploration and technology experiments in my country. According to statistics, 45 practice series satellites have been successfully launched so far. Qilu-Golden Bauhinia Agricultural Satellite Constellation: The Qilu-Golden Bauhinia Agricultural Satellite Constellation is jointly constructed and operated by Shandong Industry Research Satellite Institute and Intercontinental Aerospace. It is the world’s first high-resolution agricultural remote sensing satellite constellation and is planned to consist of 40 remote sensing satellites. At present, the “Golden Bauhinia 6” that has been successfully launched is the first satellite of the constellation and one of the joint satellites of the “Golden Bauhinia” constellation. Maritime Silk Road Constellation: Maritime Silk Road Constellation was initiated by Xiamen University and is planned to consist of 40 satellites to build a space-based observation network covering SAR, optics, water color, water temperature, carbon monitoring and other means. As of now, there are 4 satellites in orbit. Guozhihenghaonianjing Agricultural Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation: Guozhihenghaonianjing Agricultural Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation was launched by Guozhihenghaonianjing Company and is planned to consist of 40 agricultural remote sensing satellites. On December 20, 2019, the first satellite “Guozhihenghaonianjing Zhongyuan Jinshui-1 (Future-1R)” was successfully launched into orbit aboard the Long March 4B carrier rocket. According to the plan, the constellation will complete network deployment in 2025. Apocalypse Constellation: Apocalypse Constellation is my country’s first low-orbit satellite IoT constellation independently constructed and operated by Guodian Hi-Tech, with a planned total of 38 low-orbit small satellites. So far, 29 satellites have been successfully deployed in orbit, and it is expected to complete the full constellation networking in 2025. Neptune Constellation: Neptune Constellation is a commercial low-cost microwave remote sensing constellation constructed and operated by Ningbo Zhihui Space Technology Co., Ltd. It is planned to consist of 36 SAR satellites. The first star, Neptune 01 (Eastern Far), was successfully launched into orbit on May 7, 2024 aboard the Long March 6 carrier rocket. Silk Road Satellite Constellation: The Silk Road Satellite Constellation is a satellite constellation launched by Xingyi Space and built with synthetic aperture radar imaging satellites as the core. It is planned to consist of 36 satellites. On December 22, 2020, the first Zhixing-1A star was successfully launched on board the Long March 8 carrier rocket. 36 Tiangang Constellation: The 36 Tiangang Constellation is led by Xingtong Jiuheng and is planned to consist of 36 low-orbit remote sensing small satellites carrying high-resolution visible light, hyperspectral, laser multi-beam scanning and other payloads. The project originally planned to launch the first satellite at the end of June 2022 and complete the network deployment of all satellites by the end of May 2023. However, no satellite has been launched so far. Gaofen Constellation: The Gaofen satellite constellation is an important part of China’s national remote sensing satellite system plan and is committed to providing high-resolution, high-quality remote sensing images and data to the world. The constellation includes multiple satellites covering remote sensing services with different imaging needs from low resolution to high resolution. According to space map data, the constellation currently has 35 satellites in orbit. Zhuhai-1: Zhuhai-1 is my country’s first commercial remote sensing micro-nano satellite constellation launched and operated by a private listed company. The entire constellation consists of 34 satellites distributed in different orbits, including video satellites, hyperspectral satellites, radar satellites, high-resolution optical satellites and infrared satellites. At present, 12 satellites have been completed in orbit. Smart Skynet Constellation: Smart Skynet Constellation is a pan-synchronous orbit space-based network solution led by Qingshen Technology. A group of 8 medium-orbit broadband communication network satellites is used to build a global communication constellation, which can be expanded to 16 satellites (two groups), 32 satellites (four groups) and other multiple coverage networks as needed. On May 9, 2024, the first satellite, Smart Skynet-1-01, was successfully launched into orbit aboard the Long March-3B carrier rocket. Zhongzi Constellation: Zhongzi Constellation is a commercial spectrum monitoring constellation launched by Golden Silicon Information. It is planned to consist of 30 satellites and will be implemented in two phases. So far, a total of 10 satellites of Zhongzi Group 01 and 02 have been launched into orbit. Gaojing series satellites: The Gaojing series satellites are operated by China Siwei, covering Gaojing 1, Gaojing 2 and Gaojing 3. They are a group of high-resolution commercial remote sensing satellites with high resolution, large width and rapid revisit capabilities. It is planned to complete the construction of 28 satellites in 2025, which can be expanded to 56 satellites based on market development. Xiangyun Constellation: In 2014, Wang Yang, currently the CEO of Spacetime Daoyu, founded Ouke Microspace and launched the Xiangyun Constellation, planning to deploy more than 28 small satellites in low orbit. On November 20, 2018, the first satellite Jiading-1 was successfully launched into orbit aboard the Long March-2D carrier rocket. Silk Road Sky Map Satellite Constellation: The Silk Road Sky Map satellite constellation is operated by Silk Road Sky Map Company and consists of 24 remote sensing satellites covering multiple types of hyperspectral, high-resolution optical, SAR, etc. The first Star Xidian-1 was successfully launched on February 27, 2022, aboard the Long March 8 Yao-2 carrier rocket. Subsequent satellites are planned to be networked in 2025 to achieve all-weather remote sensing service capabilities with comprehensively improved spatial and temporal resolution. Tianmu 1: Tianmu 1 is operated by the Aerospace Tianmu Company, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation. It is my country’s first low-orbit meteorological satellite constellation compatible with the four major navigation systems of Beidou, GPS, Galileo and GLONASS. It consists of a sun-synchronous orbit sub-constellation and a low-inclination angle sub-constellation. It aims to achieve global uniform high-quality atmospheric and ocean remote sensing data acquisition. Up to now, Tianmu-1 has 22 operational satellites and 1 test satellite in orbit, and the network construction of the sun-synchronous orbit operational sub-constellation has been basically completed. AIRSAT constellation: AIRSAT constellation (also known as Lingyun constellation) is a low-orbit remote sensing satellite constellation that China Satellite plans to build and put into operation before 2025. It is planned to consist of 21 satellites, including 16 SAR satellites and 5 optical satellites, distributed in 8 orbital planes. So far, 7 satellites have been successfully launched into orbit. Qilu Satellite Constellation: Qilu Satellite Constellation is a low-orbit remote sensing satellite constellation operated by Shandong Industry Research Satellite Institute, with plans to deploy more than 20 satellites. So far, 4 satellites have been deployed. Huantian Constellation: Huantian Constellation is constructed and operated by Huantian Intelligence. It plans to launch a total of 20 satellites and is expected to complete the overall network in 2025. The 10 satellites that have been launched belong to the same batch of constellations as the Tianfu constellation. Qiancheng Constellation: Qiancheng Constellation is a multi-functional satellite constellation planned and constructed by Qiancheng Exploration. It plans to build 6 “Qiancheng-1” constellations and 14 “Qiancheng-2” constellations. The data types cover visible light, infrared, spectrum and radar observations, and it also has narrowband communication data service capabilities. On August 17, 2019, the first satellite Qiancheng-101 was successfully launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Look Up Constellation: Look Up Constellation is the world’s first commercial optical/ultraviolet space telescope constellation built by Origin Space. The project originally planned to complete the first phase of 10 satellite networking in 2023 and achieve the integrated deployment of 20 satellites in 2024. However, so far, only the “Looking-1” space telescope has been successfully launched into orbit on June 11, 2021, aboard the Long March 2D carrier rocket. Tianzhi series satellites: The Tianzhi series satellites are led by the Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and cover Tianzhi-1 to Tianzhi-10 (partly a satellite constellation), with a total of 17 satellites. At present, the Tianzhi-1 technology verification satellite and the Tianzhi-2 C and D satellites have been successfully launched. It is planned to complete the networking work of all satellites in 2026. Haotian Constellation: Haotian Constellation is led by Inner Mongolia Hangshu Technology and plans to launch 16-24 satellites, mainly including remote sensing satellites and independently developed SAR payload satellites. On May 21, 2024, the pilot Qingcheng-1 satellite was successfully launched into orbit aboard the Kuaizhou-11 solid launch vehicle. Zhuzhou Constellation: Zhuzhou Constellation is a commercial hybrid radar remote sensing satellite constellation invested and constructed by Space Interstellar. According to the plan, all 16 satellites in the first phase of the constellation will be launched in the first half of 2025 and achieve global network operation. Thereafter, the construction will be promoted in three stages and is expected to be fully completed in 2029, when the total size of the constellation will reach 114 satellites. So far, 8 satellites have been successfully operated in orbit. Four-Xiang Constellation: Four-Xiang Constellation is independently designed and developed by Four-Xiang Technology. It is the first commercial small satellite constellation in China that integrates “SAR + optical + infrared” multi-source remote sensing technology. The constellation is planned to consist of 12 remote sensing satellites, including 5 SAR satellites, 5 optical satellites and 2 infrared satellites. At present, three multi-source remote sensing satellites have been successfully launched into orbit, and it is expected to complete the deployment and network construction of all satellites around 2028. Hainan Satellite Constellation: Hainan Satellite Constellation is a commercial remote sensing satellite constellation operated by MSI. The overall project plans to deploy 12 satellites, and so far 4 optical satellites have been successfully launched. According to the plan, 6 more optical satellites will be launched in 2026, and 2 hyperspectral satellites will be launched in 2027. SmartSAT constellation: SmartSAT constellation is a high-time-efficiency commercial intelligent synthetic aperture radar satellite constellation composed of 12 satellites that Smart Star Space is building. On February 3, 2024, the first Xingji Hi-tech Innovation (Zhixing 2A) was successfully launched at sea on board the Jielong 3 Yaosan launch vehicle. Aurora Constellation: Aurora Constellation is a group of 12 laser communication network satellites built by Aurora Starcom. On May 31, 2024, Aurora Constellation Star 01 (Fudan Information Star) and Star 02 (Shanghai Institute of Electrical Engineering No. 1) were successfully launched on board the Ceres-1 Yao-12 launch vehicle. In addition, Aurora Constellation 03/04 is expected to be launched into orbit in the second quarter of 2025. Beijing-3 series satellites: Beijing-3 series satellites are commercial remote sensing satellite projects developed by Dongfanghong Aerospace Corporation and invested and constructed by Century Space. On May 20, 2024, the Beijing-3C star constellation “four stars in one arrow” was successfully launched, achieving six-star in-orbit coordination with the previously launched Beijing-3A star and Beijing-3B star. Zhangye SAR Satellite Constellation: The Zhangye SAR Satellite Constellation consists of 6 radar remote sensing satellites with InSAR interference imaging capabilities. It is an important construction project in Ganzhou District of Zhangye City to empower the digital transformation of industry, economy, and society. On September 24, 2024, the first Xingshenqi (formerly Ganzhou-1) developed by Zhangye Constellation and Tianyi Research Institute was launched using the Jielong-3 Yao-4 carrier rocket. Mianyang Constellation: Mianyang Constellation is constructed and operated by Mianyang Tianyi, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tianyi Research Institute, and consists of 6 SAR satellites, ground stations and data centers. It is planned to complete the networking of 6 SAR satellites in 2025, and simultaneously build ground stations and data centers. On June 7, 2023, the first Star Fucheng-1 was successfully launched into orbit aboard the Lijian-1 Yao-2 carrier rocket. Daoda Constellation: Daoda Constellation is jointly built by Changguang Satellite and Daoda Sky. It plans to launch a total of 6 new generation low-orbit high-resolution remote sensing satellites. On April 30, 2022, the first batch of four satellites (“Jilin-1” Gaofen 03D04~07 satellites) were successfully launched into orbit on the Long March 11 Haishe Yao-3 rocket. They are also the satellite batch products of Changguang Satellite. TEE constellation: The TEE constellation is a low-orbit optical remote sensing satellite constellation built by Mumei Star. It consists of 3 satellites and has full-color imaging capabilities with a resolution better than 1 meter, and supports spectral imaging services. It can be widely used in agricultural monitoring, ocean observation, emergency management, natural resource survey, municipal transportation and other fields. On June 6, 2024, the first satellite “Earth Eye 1” was successfully launched. Tianqin Project: The Tianqin Project was proposed by Academician Luo Jun of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and promoted by the Tianqin Center of Sun Yat-sen University. It plans to build an equilateral triangular constellation composed of three identical satellites with a side length of about 170,000 kilometers. On December 20, 2019, the first satellite “Tianqin-1” technology test satellite was successfully launched into orbit. According to the plan, “Tianqin-2” is expected to be launched around 2025, and “Tianqin-3” is expected to be launched around 2035. Tai Chi Project: The Tai Chi Project is a space gravitational wave detection program led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It plans to launch three satellites in space to form an equilateral triangle formation with an arm length of 3 million kilometers. The satellites will be connected in pairs through lasers. On August 31, 2019, Taiji-1 was successfully launched into orbit at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Huashui Constellation: Huashui Constellation is a remote sensing satellite constellation initiated by North China University of Water Resources and Hydropower and oriented to smart water conservancy construction. So far, the experimental satellite Chaohu-1 and the first optical remote sensing satellite Huashui-1 have bee
