Orienspace launches Gravity-1 rocket with nine more Qianfan satellites
Orienspace's Gravity-1 sea-launch rocket put eight more Qianfan broadband satellites and a test craft into orbit.
what happened
Orienspace launched its Gravity-1 Y3 rocket from a sea platform off Shanghai on September 16, deploying eight Qianfan Group 26 satellites and one EUHT technology test satellite, per CGTN. The mission set Chinese records for heaviest single sea-launch payload (over three tonnes) and highest insertion altitude (about 800 km), and was Gravity-1's first flight dedicated to a broadband megaconstellation network rather than a mixed smallsat payload.
why it matters
This was Gravity-1's fourth flight and its first tasked with building out a specific constellation, a step toward routine commercial cadence for China's sea-launch capacity. It adds to Qianfan's steadily expanding footprint as Chinese operators race to build out LEO broadband.
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- Orienspace
- Category
- launch
- Impact
- noise
- SNR
- 4 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-09-16
- Published
- 2026-09-16 12:19 UTC