China Landspace Lijian-1 Y12 Commercial Launch of Earth Observation Satellites
A CAS Space Lijian-1 Y12 carrier rocket (also known as Kinetica-1 Y12) blasted off at 12:03 p.m. Beijing Time on April 14, 2026 from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China, delivering eight satellites, including the Jixing Gaofen 07A02 into their planned orbits. The launch mission was a complete success. Lijian-1 successfully launched "One Arrow, Eight Satellites".
This was the Lijian-1 rocket's 12th successful mission with a total of 92 satellites and more than 12 tonnes of payload launched. Developed by CAS Space, this rocket targets the microsatellite market with quick one-month turnaround times and double-digit annual production. It also plans for sea launches, signaling China's push toward high-frequency, flexible access to space.
The Youchuyinhang (Postal Savings Bank of China, PSBC) series of satellites were also delivered in this flight. Kinetica-1 is now producing ten flights per year using pulse-line manufacturing. Manufacturing is divided into several key nodes, operating in parallel to improve efficiency and quality control.
The rocket put into orbit eight Earth remote sensing satellites with a resolution of <0.5 m:
"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07A02"
"Gaofen 07A03/Yuchu Yinghan"
"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07A04"
"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07B02"
"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07B03"
"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07B04"
"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07C02"
"Jilin-1 Gaofen 07C03".
CAS Space is a Chinese commercial space launch provider based in Guangzhou, capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. CAS Space was founded in 2018 and is majority owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) was founded in 1958. It was the first of China's four spaceports. The launch center has been the focus of many of China's historic space ventures, including the country's first satellite Dong Fang Hong I in 1970 and their first crewed space mission, Shenzhou V, on October 15, 2003. JSLC is now a home for many new Chinese launch firms, like CAS Space.
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