Kinetica-2 places 18 Qianfan satellites in orbit

On Nov. 3 at 8:15 a.m. Beijing time, CAS Space's Kinetica-2 Y2 lifted off from the Dongfeng commercial site at Jiuquan and placed 18 Qianfan polar-orbit group 21 satellites into their planned orbit, China News Service, People's Daily and China Daily reported, citing the company. It was the rocket's second flight, its first large satellite-internet mission, and the 18th Kinetica-series launch. Those reports say the series has now orbited one spacecraft and 139 satellites, with more than 27 metric tons of payload, and they do not state a new total for the whole constellation.