Qianfan crosses 200 satellites with back-to-back launches

Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology's Qianfan megaconstellation crossed the 200-satellite mark on June 5 after CASC put up 36 satellites in 19 hours - a Long March 6A from Taiyuan on June 4 and a Long March 8 from Wenchang on June 5, each carrying 18 SSST-built spacecraft. SSST said the milestone is enough to begin supporting maritime Automatic Identification System services and accelerates buildout of China's flagship answer to Starlink, though Qianfan still needs to roughly triple its in-orbit fleet by year-end to hit its 324-satellite initial global coverage target.