China closed 2025 with back-to-back launches on Dec. 30–31, pushing the country to at least 92 space missions this year and confirming a new national record for annual orbital activity.
A Two-Launch Finale on Dec. 30–31
China’s year-end push featured two missions in roughly 24 hours.
On Dec. 30, a Long March-4B rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center carrying Tianhui-7, a satellite China says will support geological surveys, land-resource investigations, and scientific experiments. Chinese state contractor China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC) said the liftoff occurred at 12:12 p.m. Beijing time and described the launch as China’s 92nd space mission of 2025 and the 622nd flight of the Long March rocket family.
On Dec. 31, China followed with another CASC mission from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan island. A Long March-7A rocket launched Shijian-29A and Shijian-29B at 6:40 a.m. Beijing time. CASC said both satellites will demonstrate space-based target-detection technologies—capabilities used to detect and track objects in orbit, including satellites, rocket bodies, and debris. The company described this as China’s 93rd space mission of 2025 and the 623rd Long March flight.
Why the numbers matter: The two China Daily reports indicate China ended the year at 93 “space missions” in 2025, meaning the “92 launches” headline reflects the count before the Dec. 31 mission, or a different counting convention used by some trackers.
Breaking China’s Previous Annual Record
China’s previous national best was 68 orbital launch attempts in 2024, a figure widely cited by launch analysts.
Even before the final two launches, independent launch trackers had already shown 2025 trending sharply higher than 2024. For context, Space Stats Online’s year dashboard (updated through late December) listed China as the world’s second-most active launch nation in 2025.
How China’s 2025 Cadence Compares Globally
While China’s pace accelerated, the United States still led the world—driven overwhelmingly by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 operations.
Space Stats Online counted the United States as the top launch nation in 2025, with China in second place (country totals vary slightly depending on how late-year missions are recorded and classified).
Launch Cadence Snapshot (2024 vs. 2025)
| Metric | 2024 | 2025 (Year-End) |
| China orbital launches (national record) | 68 | 92–93 (depending on counting) |
| United States launches (all providers) | — | Led globally (SpaceX dominant) |
Notes: China’s year-end “92nd” and “93rd” mission counts come from CASC statements carried by China Daily. 2024’s 68 figure is from launch analysis tallies.
What China Is Launching So Often
China’s 2025 manifest blended civil, commercial, and strategic missions. The two year-end payloads illustrate the mix:
- Tianhui-7: positioning and mapping-related work—CASC cited geological and land-resource tasks.
- Shijian-29A/29B: on-orbit technology demonstrations related to space domain awareness (detecting and tracking objects in orbit).
That blend is a key feature of China’s space buildout: Earth-observation and mapping satellites support economic planning and science, while space-based detection and tracking supports safe operations—and can carry national-security implications.
Megaconstellations: The Biggest Driver of the Launch Surge
A major structural reason behind China’s rising cadence is the push to deploy large broadband constellations designed to compete with Starlink.
Guowang (SatNet): State-Backed Broadband Buildout
Guowang (often described as a “national network”) is widely reported as a ~13,000-satellite plan operated by China SatNet, with deployment beginning in batches.
Qianfan (Thousand Sails / Spacesail): Commercially Driven Rival Network
Qianfan (also called Spacesail or “G60 Starlink” in some references) is another planned Chinese broadband constellation with a stated ambition in the tens of thousands in some filings and analyses.
Because constellation numbers evolve quickly, counts differ by tracker and date. A public satellite tracker page listed 108 active Qianfan satellites at the time of access.
Constellation Goals At A Glance
| Project | Backing | Reported Target Size | Status Signals Reported In 2025 |
| Guowang (SatNet) | State-backed | ~13,000 | Ongoing batch launches; long runway to full deployment |
| Qianfan (Thousand Sails/Spacesail) | Commercial-led | 15,000+ cited in filings/analyses | Early deployment phase; tracker counts vary |
| Starlink (SpaceX) | Commercial (U.S.) | Ongoing expansion | Over 10,000 launched; ~9,100 active cited mid-Dec. 2025 |
Reusable Rockets: China’s Next Big Bottleneck
High launch volume is easier when rockets can be reused quickly. SpaceX’s operational model—rapid booster reuse—has reshaped global launch economics, and China is working to close that gap.
In late December, Reuters reported China eased IPO rules to support firms developing reusable rockets, and highlighted LandSpace’s work on Zhuque-3, described as a key step in China’s effort to compete in reusability—even though its booster recovery was not achieved in that test.
Analysts generally view reusability as the difference between “high” cadence and “industrial-scale” cadence—especially for megaconstellations that require hundreds of launches over several years.
Deep Space: Tianwen-2 Adds A Science Milestone To The Launch Total
China’s launch year was not just about quantity. It also included a high-profile deep-space mission: Tianwen-2, an asteroid sample-return mission headed for Kamoʻoalewa. Multiple spaceflight outlets reported its launch in late May 2025 and the plan to return samples later in the decade.
What Happens Next
China’s record year strengthens three trends that are likely to shape 2026:
- More constellation deployment as Guowang and Qianfan scale manufacturing and launch capacity.
- More commercial participation as Beijing seeks faster iteration cycles and new financing routes for launch startups.
- More pressure on space sustainability, as higher launch rates increase congestion and operational risk in busy orbits—especially if defunct spacecraft are harder to deorbit from higher altitudes (a concern raised by analysts watching constellation growth).
Final Thoughts
China’s end-of-year launches did more than add two satellites to orbit—they confirmed a record annual cadence and highlighted the country’s strategy: pair a high-tempo launch pipeline with broadband megaconstellations, stronger tracking capabilities, and a growing commercial rocket sector. The next test will be whether China can sustain this pace while moving toward reusable launch systems that lower cost and increase throughput—the same lever that made SpaceX the dominant launch provider of the decade.
