China’s Lijian-2 rocket placed 18 SpaceSail communications satellites into their planned orbit on November 3, 2026. The vehicle lifted off at 8:15 a.m. Beijing time, or 00:15 UTC, from the Dongfeng commercial space launch area near Jiuquan.
CAS Space identified the mission as Lijian-2’s second flight and its first large-scale satellite-internet deployment. The payload belongs to SpaceSail’s low Earth orbit communications constellation, also known as Qianfan.
SpaceSail is operated by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology. Its deployment uses groups of satellites to build a network rather than relying on a single spacecraft to provide coverage.
A Restartable Upper Stage and Multiple Deployments
CAS Space reported that the rocket’s second-stage engine used two ignition periods for this mission. The company adapted propellant-management equipment for the longer coast between powered portions of the flight.
The mission also used a separation-release system that CAS Space had previously flown on other launch vehicles. Its first application on Lijian-2 supported the ordered release of the satellites into orbit.
The company described changes to ground gas and power connections, automated testing, and fault diagnosis as part of its launch preparation process. It also identified stage passivation and upper-stage deorbit provisions in the vehicle’s safety design. Passivation reduces stored energy remaining in a spent rocket stage.
Payload Capacity and Mission Experience
Lijian-2 is a liquid-fueled launch vehicle built around a common-core configuration. Xinhua reported a rated capacity of eight metric tons to a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit and 12 metric tons to a 200-kilometer low Earth orbit. These ratings refer to different destination orbits.
The first Lijian-2 mission carried the Qingzhou prototype spacecraft. Its second flight applied the launcher to a different deployment task: releasing a batch of communications satellites for an expanding commercial network.
