Long March 6A Launches SpaceSail Polar #11 — 4 June 2026

A Long March 6A rocket successfully launched the SpaceSail Polar Group #11 batch of satellites at 11:39 UTC on 4 June 2026 from Launch Complex 9A at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China. The mission, operated by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), reached orbit as planned and was declared a success.

What is the Long March 6A?

The Long March 6A is a Chinese medium-lift orbital rocket and the first in the Long March family to combine a liquid-fueled core with four solid rocket boosters. It stands roughly 50 meters tall and can deliver about 4,500 kg to sun-synchronous orbit, making it a workhorse for China's growing polar-orbiting satellite constellations.

What was the payload?

This mission carried another group of satellites for the SpaceSail (Qianfan/G60) broadband megaconstellation, a low-Earth-orbit internet network operated in association with Shanghai-based Spacecom. As the 11th polar-orbit group in the deployment, it adds to a constellation that is planned to eventually total more than 14,000 satellites, positioning SpaceSail as one of China's direct answers to Western LEO broadband systems.

SpaceSail satellites are inserted into polar orbits at altitudes of roughly 800 km, spread across multiple orbital planes to build progressive global coverage. Taiyuan's high-latitude location and southward launch corridor make it the primary Chinese site for reaching these sun-synchronous and near-polar orbits.

Did the launch succeed?

Yes. According to the mission status reported by the launch provider, the Long March 6A performed nominally and delivered the SpaceSail Polar Group #11 satellites to their target orbit. The four solid boosters and the liquid core stage completed their burns as planned before the upper stage carried the payloads to deployment altitude.

Launch summary

Why does this launch matter?

The SpaceSail constellation is central to China's ambition to field a large-scale LEO broadband network capable of competing with systems like Starlink and OneWeb. Each polar group launch incrementally fills orbital planes needed for continuous coverage, and a steady cadence from Taiyuan is essential to reach the constellation's multi-thousand-satellite goal within the coming years.

The Long March 6A also continues to prove itself as a reliable medium-lift option for these deployments. Its solid-booster augmentation gives it the extra performance needed to loft heavier batches of satellites to the higher polar altitudes SpaceSail requires.

How to track the SpaceSail satellites

Once catalogued, the newly deployed satellites can be followed on Cosmik's live 3D solar-system and satellite map. You can watch them spread across their orbital plane in the days after separation and compare their paths against other constellations. For more on following orbital objects, see our guide on how to track satellites.

You can also review upcoming missions on the rocket launch schedule and catch the latest launch news as further SpaceSail groups head to orbit.

Background and sources

Launch details are drawn from open launch data via The Space Devs Launch Library. Additional background on the vehicle, operator, and spaceport is available from Long March 6A, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, and Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on Wikipedia.

Follow the SpaceSail Polar Group #11 satellites live on Cosmik as they settle into their polar orbit, and enable free launch alerts so you never miss the next Long March 6A liftoff from Taiyuan.