China Achieves Progress in Building Commercial Qianfan Satellite Constellation
China is poised to make strides in its Qianfan (SpaceSail) Constellation, a low-Earth-orbit satellite Internet network in the near future, according to the space program chief in Shanghai. Qianfan is China's first giant low-orbit commercial satellite constellation to enter the formal networking phase.
The country launched its first batch of 18 networking satellites in August 2024, and the constellation had grown to 200 satellites in orbit by June 5, 2026. Now China looks to have a total of 324 satellites in orbit for the constellation by July 2026.
In December 2025, China submitted an application to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) that sent shockwaves through the global space community, requesting frequency and orbital resources for 203,000 new satellites across 14 satellite constellations, including those in low and medium Earth orbits.
This marks China's largest-scale consolidated international frequency and orbital resource application to date.
"From a national perspective, I believe this may also serve as a strategic reserve. Applying for these network resources in advance is certainly the first step in preparation effort," said Hu Haiying, director of the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and chief of the Qianfan Constellation.
Two decades ago, China was among the first to set its sights on low Earth orbit.
Today, every satellite in the Qianfan Constellation, also known as the SpaceSail Constellation, is helping to fill the time window.
From the launch of the first experimental satellite in 2003 to the intensive launch schedule in June 2026, the Qianfan Constellation is catching up at a rapid pace.
Hu said he is upbeat about the progress to be made going forward that will bring intangible benefits to the public.
"Of course, the pressure is definitely there. In terms of the requirements for us network service providers, the standards are rigid; a seven-year service life remain unchanged and these are all clearly stipulated in our contracts. As I mentioned earlier, we got an early start, but we hit a slight pause along the way; now we're catching up with all our might. I believe that all of us in this sector are currently in a phase of overcoming hurdles, and the same goes for satellites—launch vehicles, launch sites, operations and maintenance, and overall operations are all at this stage. I remain very confident. My assessment is that in about two years' time, all of us in this sector will have made significant progress. We aim to establish an integrated space-ground network, which is a foundational project. In the future, when ordinary people use the internet, it will be as natural as using electricity or water—accessible anywhere, ready to use. I believe that achieving this level of service coverage will inevitably rely on space-based infrastructure," he said.
Duration: 1 minutes, 14 seconds
Release Date: June 11, 2026
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