China Launches 24th Guowang Batch, Lifting Constellation to 195 Satellites
Updated
Updated · SpaceNews · Aug 17
China Launches 24th Guowang Batch, Lifting Constellation to 195 Satellites
3 articles · Updated · SpaceNews · Aug 17
Summary
Long March 12 lifted off from Hainan at 0410 UTC on Aug. 16, placing another Guowang batch in orbit and marking the constellation’s 24th operational deployment.
195 satellites are now in orbit for Guowang, part of a roughly 13,000-satellite low-Earth-orbit network, though China released no spacecraft details or images.
2.5 days on pad and a successful flight less than a week after the Aug. 10 Long March 7A explosion suggest the earlier failure was not tied to the YF-100 engine family used on Long March 12.
A separate Long March 2C launch from Taiyuan at 0302 UTC on Aug. 17 orbited the UAE’s SEO Earth-observation satellite, a project involving UAE University, the UAE Space Agency and Chinese partners.
59 launches have now put China on pace for more than 100 missions in 2026, even as the Long March 7A grounding threatens geosynchronous launch schedules and could affect the related Long March 3B.