China launches 18 communications satellites

China launched a group of 18 communications satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province on Friday afternoon, deploying the sixth batch of space-based assets of the Spacesail Constellation in orbit.

Built by Shanghai-based Innovation Academy for Microsatellites for satellite operator Spacesail, the plate-shaped satellites were carried by a Long March 6A rocket that blasted off at 3:08 pm and soon arrived in their preset orbital positions.

After the launch, 108 satellites have been lifted into space by six rockets for the Spacesail Constellation.

Previously known as the G60 network, the Spacesail Constellation is intended to provide high-speed, secure, and reliable broadband internet services to users around the world, and is designed to consist of as many as more than 10,000 satellites traveling in low-altitude orbits before the end of 2030, according to Spacesail.

According to the project plan, a total of 648 satellites will have been deployed in orbit before the end of 2025 to form the first version of the Spacesail Constellation network, which has been called by some observers as China's answer to SpaceX's Starlink system.

The Long March 6A rocket model was developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology as a medium-lift launch vehicle. It consists of a 50-meter, liquid-propelled core booster and four solid-fuel side boosters. The core booster has a diameter of 3.35 meters and is propelled by two 120-ton-thrust engines burning liquid oxygen and kerosene.

The rocket has a liftoff weight of 530 metric tons and is tasked with transporting satellites to multiple types of orbit, including sun-synchronous, low-Earth, and intermediate circular orbit.

The mission was China's 64th space launch this year and the 601st flight of the Long March family, the nation's main launch vehicle fleet.