Long March 8 launched Qianfan polar-orbit satellite group 12 from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site at 14:34 Beijing time on June 5, 2026. CASC confirmed successful orbital delivery. It was the Long March family's 649th flight and Long March 8's third mission of the year. Only 18 days separated this flight from the vehicle type's previous mission. CASC described paced production and parallel work on two rockets as measures supporting the higher launch rate. That interval is not evidence that one booster was recovered and flown again. Developed by CASC's First Academy, Long March 8 is a liquid-fuelled vehicle with boosters. Together with Long March 8A it provides five- and seven-tonne-class sun-synchronous-orbit capability. China Commercial Rocket served as launch-service prime contractor for this batch. The flight illustrates Hainan's continuing role in constellation deployment and the importance of parallel ground processing. Success refers to this launch and orbital delivery, not completion of the constellation. Unlicensed source photographs are not republished.
China space
Long March 8 launches Qianfan polar-orbit group 12
Long March 8 launched Qianfan polar-orbit satellite group 12 from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site at 14:34 Beijing time on June 5, 2026. CASC confirmed successful orbital delivery. It was the Long March family's 649th flight and Long March 8's third mission of the year.
Commercial spaceSatellite internetWenchang
Related launch missions
No linked mission.
Related space entities
No linked entity.