# China drives toward ~140 orbital launches in 2026, a new national record
> Megaconstellation batches and a surprise Long March 12B maiden flight push cadence to one launch every ~2.5 days

**Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-06-23 · heads: اللعبة الطويلة, من يقرّر · 8 takes · 3 lenses · 2 regions

## Summary

China is on pace for roughly 140 orbital launches in 2026, a ~52% jump over 2025's national
record of 93. By end-March it had logged 34, about one launch every 2.5 days. The driver is
megaconstellation deployment: [Guowang](/ar/entity/guowang) and [Qianfan](/ar/entity/qianfan) batches launching
every two-to-three weeks could consume 70+ launches alone. June milestones underline the tempo:
a surprise [Long March 12B](/ar/entity/china-launch) maiden flight on 1 June carried paying customers and
skipped its planned booster landing; the Long March 3B returned to flight 16 June after a shared
upper-stage investigation; and the Long March 7A flew its 16th mission 23 June with a classified
GTO payload. The cadence underwrites both China's [internet](/ar/n/china-megaconstellation-batches-2026)
constellations and its [military](/ar/n/china-silo-launch-pads-xinjiang) space build-out.

## By the numbers

- ~140, projected 2026 orbital launches (target).
- 93, 2025 national record being broken; ~52% increase sought.
- 34, launches logged by end-March 2026 (~1 every 2.5 days).
- 70+, launches the two megaconstellations alone may consume in 2026.

## Why it matters

Launch cadence is the bottleneck for everything else China wants in orbit, broadband, recon,
missile-tracking. A sustained ~140/year rate narrows the gap with US cadence and underwrites
the [Guowang](/ar/entity/guowang)/[Qianfan](/ar/entity/qianfan) race against [Starlink](/ar/entity/starlink).

## What to watch

- Whether the second-half pace holds to hit ~140.
- First successful Long March 12B booster recovery (reusability milestone).
- Guowang/Qianfan batch frequency as the constraint binds.

## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens)

### unlabelled
- **SpaceNews** (United States, en) — Trade-press tracking of China's 2026 manifest, Yaogan reconnaissance and Guowang internet payloads, the running record against which the ~140-launch target is measured.
  Source: https://spacenews.com/chinas-first-launches-of-2026-send-yaogan-spacecraft-into-unusual-orbit-loft-guowang-satellites/
- **KeepTrack** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://keeptrack.space/deep-dive/china-launch-cadence-2025-2026
- **Space.com** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/china-breaks-record-with-3-long-march-rocket-launches-in-19-hour-stretch-video
- **SpaceDaily** (Global, en) — 
  Source: https://spacedaily.com/sd-in-june-2026-china-rolled-its-brand-new-long-march-12b-onto-a-pad-in-the-gobi-desert-told-no-one-loaded-the-maiden-flight-with-paying-customers-satellites-and-the-rocket-built-to-lan/
- **Wikipedia (List of Long March launches 2025–2029)** (Global, en) — 
  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Long_March_launches_(2025%E2%80%932029)
- **RocketLaunch.Live** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://www.rocketlaunch.live/?filter=china&includePast=1

### US science press
- **Scientific American** (United States, en) — Reports the Long March 12B, built to be a reusable Falcon 9 rival, flying its maiden mission in June 2026 with paying customers aboard and no public warning, the booster's planned landing not even attempted. Frames China's secrecy and risk tolerance versus Western practice.
  > "China put paying customers on the maiden flight of a rocket built to land its booster, which never even tried."
  Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/china-launches-rival-to-spacex-falcon-9-with-zero-warning/

### US tech press
- **Tech Times** (United States, en) — Covers the Long March 7A's 16th flight on June 23 lofting a classified GTO satellite, a week after its sibling Long March 3B cleared a shared upper-stage investigation, the classified GEO manifest resuming pace inside the broader 140-launch drive.
  > "Long March 7A's 16th mission placed a classified satellite in GTO, the latest entry in China's drive toward 140 orbital launches."
  Source: https://www.techtimes.com/articles/318911/20260623/long-march-7a-completes-16th-flight-classified-geo-rocket-resumes-record-pace.htm

## Across the graph
- Related: [[china-megaconstellation-batches-2026]], [[starship-flight-12-booster-failure-2026]], [[china-silo-launch-pads-xinjiang]]
- Entities: China Launch, China, Launch Cadence, Guowang, Qianfan

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Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/ar/n/china-launch-cadence-140-2026