Qianfan Constellation
Overview
China's first commercial LEO mega-constellation in formal network deployment. The system is being built in phases: a 324-satellite initial network for regional coverage, a 1,296-satellite Phase 1, and a long-term total of more than 15,000 satellites for global coverage by 2030. Two July 2026 batches - a Long March 6A (18 satellites) on July 4 and a Long March 8A carrying 20 satellites (the largest group to date) on July 5 - lifted the network to 238 spacecraft in orbit; primary deployments continue in 18-to-20-satellite batches on Long March 6A, 8/8A alongside the new Long March 12B.
256 satellites are in orbit after 15 batch launches, the latest on August 6, 2026 - the first deployment since the July 4-5 batches, with no further batch launched as of September 2, 2026, nearly four weeks without a new deployment. That launch's Long March 6A upper stage broke apart in orbit afterward, scattering a tracked debris cloud, though the deployed satellites were unaffected. The near-term objective is a 324-satellite initial network for regional broadband coverage - a target that has slipped from July 2026 into H2 2026 - followed by a published 648-satellite checkpoint by end of 2026, building toward a 1,296-satellite Phase 1.