China has added three more launches to its 2026 tally, bringing the total to 26 over the weekend, because why stop at a mere 23? The activity included sending a remote sensing satellite for Pakistan, four internet test satellites, and an environment monitoring satellite into orbit, proving once again that space is the place for international cooperation and slightly alarming launch frequency.
The Long March 6 rocket - the dependable workhorse that first flew in 2015 and uses a YF-100 engine derived from the Long March 5's boosters - lifted off at 8:15 a.m. Eastern on April 25 from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. Its passenger: the PRSC-EO3 satellite, equipped with a high-resolution optical payload, built by the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO). The propulsion systems came courtesy of the Beijing Institute of Control Engineering (BICE) under the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). The launch was arranged by China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC), a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), as part of a multi-launch service agreement with SUPARCO - because Pakistan clearly couldn't get enough of the PRSC-EO1 and PRSC-EO2, launched in January 2025 and February 2026, respectively.
This mission also signals deepening China - Pakistan space cooperation, with Pakistan signing up to the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) moon base project in October 2023 and an agreement that will see one Pakistani astronaut make a short-term visit to the Tiangong space station. Two candidate astronauts, Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, arrived in Beijing for training on April 24, presumably packing their bags for a trip that's out of this world.
Just over a day earlier, a Long March 2D rocket lifted off at 2:35 a.m. Eastern on April 24 from Xichang Satellite Launch Center, carrying a satellite internet technology test satellite. According to CASC, this satellite is mainly used to conduct technical experiments on direct broadband connection to satellites for mobile phones and the convergence of space and ground networks - because who doesn't want to check their email from a low Earth orbit? The launch carried four satellites, one developed by commercial satellite maker GalaxySpace, two from Changguang Satellite Technology (CGST), with participation from the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and another from the Harbin Institute of Technology Satellite Technology Co., Ltd. All four were tracked in near-circular, 505-kilometer-altitude orbits inclined by 55 degrees.
This launch is part of a series of satellite internet technology test satellite launches dating back to 2023, which relate to China's plans to build its own communications megaconstellations in low Earth orbit. The test satellite launch also coincided with China's national space day, first held in 2016, chosen for the anniversary of China's first orbital launch on April 24, 1970, when a Long March 1 sent the DFH-1 satellite into orbit - a nice piece of historical symmetry.
China's previous launch saw a Long March 4C lift off at 12:10 Eastern on April 17 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, carrying the Daqi-2 satellite, also called Atmospheric Environment Monitoring Satellite-2 (AEMS-2). Daqi-2 is for monitoring atmospheric aerosol and carbon dioxide, carrying five payloads including an Aerosol and Carbon Detection Lidar. It follows the launch of Daqi-1 in April 2022, and was sent into a near-polar, 700-km altitude orbit.
The Long March 2D and 4C are part of China's older, hypergolic series of launch vehicles, but China has since developed a range of larger cryogenic, kerosene and methane-fueled launchers and is attempting to recover and reuse first stages - because recycling isn't just for plastic bottles anymore.
These launches were China's 24th, 25th and 26th orbital launch attempts of 2026, including three failures. The country could be aiming to conduct as many as 140 launches this year, far surpassing last year's national record of 92, including the launch of the Chang'e-7 lunar south pole lander. The debut of China's reusable Long March 10B rocket, initially set for a window of April 28-30, appears to have been pushed back into May - because even rockets need a little more time to get ready.