SHANGHAI , 3rd November, 2026 (WAM) -- China's privately developed Kinetica-2 Y2 liquid-propellant carrier rocket successfully launched 18 satellites into their planned orbits on Tuesday, marking a significant step in the participation of private aerospace enterprises in the country's large-scale deployment of low-Earth orbit satellite internet constellations.
The rocket blasted off at 8:15 am on Tuesday from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Experimental Zone in Northwest China, carrying the 21st batch satellites of the polar-orbit constellation under China's Qianfan satellite internet project, according to CAS Space, the rocket's developer.
The mission marked the second flight of the Kinetica-2 rocket and its first deployment mission for a large-scale satellite internet constellation, demonstrating the growing capabilities of China's private commercial space sector to support national space infrastructure projects.
Yang Haoliang, chief designer and commander-in-chief of the Kinetica-2 rocket program, told the Global Times that China's low-orbit satellite internet has entered a critical period of intensive deployment, with substantial demand for launch services as the country accelerates the construction of satellite constellations.
"High-frequency, highly reliable and low-cost launch capacity is essential to ensuring the steady development of satellite internet infrastructure," Yang said.
He noted that the latest mission represented a crucial operational test of the rocket's adaptability to large-scale satellite constellation deployment.
Developed independently by CAS Space, Kinetica-2 is a liquid-propellant carrier rocket featuring what the company describes as China's first "universal booster core" configuration.
The rocket has a payload capacity of eight tons to a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit and 12 tons to a 200-kilometer low-Earth orbit, making it suitable for large-scale satellite deployment and low-cost cargo transportation.