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noiselaunch2026-11-03

CAS Space launches 18 more Qianfan satellites on Lijian-2's second flight

CAS Space · SpaceSail

CAS Space's Lijian-2 rocket flew for the second time, delivering the 17th batch of Qianfan/Spacesail broadband satellites, per Xinhua.

Image: arabtimesonline.com
// sources · 2 attached
  1. [1]trade pressarabtimesonline.com↗
  2. [2]mainstream press · corroborationnews.cgtn.com↗

what happened

CAS Space launched its Lijian-2 Y2 rocket from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation zone near Jiuquan at 8:15 a.m. Beijing time on Nov. 3, carrying 18 satellites for the Spacesail/Qianfan broadband constellation into their planned orbits, per Xinhua. It was the second flight of the liquid-fueled Lijian-2 and the 17th batch added to the Qianfan constellation, bringing the total deployed to 276 satellites, per the same report.

why it matters

It is CAS Space's first use of the larger Lijian-2 to fly a megaconstellation batch rather than a smallsat rideshare, giving Qianfan a second domestic launcher, alongside Long March variants, capable of flying its cadence. For Qianfan/Spacesail, it is routine progress toward its stated goal of roughly 12,000 satellites.

signal-to-noise

WIDELY REPORTED
4/5
leadtier 3 of 5 on its owncorrob+1 earned from 1 rule
calculation
3base tier 3 from lead source class "trade" (Xinhua) arabtimesonline.com+12 distinct sources (>=2)
= 4current score, recomputed by the engine on every change
scorer v2how scores work →

quick facts

Companies
CAS Space, SpaceSail
Category
launch
Impact
noise
SNR
4 / 5
Event date
2026-11-03
Published
2026-11-03 17:31 UTC
#launch#connectivity#china

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