CAS Space's liquid-fuel Lijian-2 Y2 rocket lifted 18 Qianfan satellites into orbit in a single launch on Tuesday. Huanqiu Times and other outlets said it was the rocket's first large-scale satellite internet deployment mission.
According to Chinese outlets including Huanqiu Times and The Beijing News, the Lijian-2 Y2 rocket lifted off at 8:15 a.m. on November 3 from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Pilot Zone. It delivered 18 satellites of the Qianfan polar-orbit group 21 to their planned orbit. Exact orbital parameters were not given in the reports we reviewed and are unconfirmed.
광고 문의 · 300×250Lijian-2 is China's first rocket to use a ‘common booster core’ configuration. Its stages share a 3.35-meter diameter and the first and second stages use the same engine type. It is described as able to carry 8 tonnes to a 500-km sun-synchronous orbit and 12 tonnes to a 200-km low Earth orbit.
Releasing 18 at once
The mission's highlight was stacking the satellites and releasing all 18 with a single unlocking action. CAS Space said its in-house separation device reduces parts, steps and weight. Deputy chief designer Zhang Yanrui compared it to going from throwing a shot put 18 times to hurling 18 hammers in one throw, according to the reports.
Lijian-2's first flight, Y1, took place in late March this year, carrying a prototype Qingzhou spacecraft and two satellites to orbit. The latest flight was also the 18th launch in the Lijian rocket family.
Chief designer and commander Yang Haoliang said Lijian-2 is a main liquid rocket built for large-scale constellation deployment and low-cost cargo transport. Taiwan's United Daily News reported that CAS Space is also developing cluster recovery technology and plans a suborbital recovery test of its Lijian-Hongwei-2 reusable vehicle in the first quarter of 2027; whether that schedule will hold is unconfirmed.