Overview
Most of these satellites from China are launched for government use (36.6%) and for the purpose of earth observation (51.7%).Majority of these satellites are LEO satellites, with around 358 (77.5%) launched so far.
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Insights from China's Satellite Dataset
Which year saw the most satellites launched for China?
Who operates or owns the most satellites in China?
Which rocket has delivered the most satellites from China to space?
Which launch site has launched the most satellites from China to space?
What is the most common type of satellite orbit?
Apogee, Perigee & Period
Satellite Mass
Third heaviest satellite launched by China into space at 6,140 kg
AsiaSat-9 is a commercial satellite operated by Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. (China) for the purpose of communications.
Delivered via Proton (launch vehicle) from Baikonur Cosmodrome, it was launched into space on 28 September 2017 and orbits the Earth as a GEO satellite. AsiaSat-9 was constructed by Space Systems/Loral (USA).
With a launch mass of 6,140kg, AsiaSat-9 is designed to operate in space for a lifetime of 15 years. It orbits around the Earth with the COSPAR ID 2017-057A and NORAD ID 42942.
Taking 1,436 minutes to orbit the Earth, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 35,783km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 35,790km. The eccentricity of the orbit is 8.30E-05 and it orbits along the Earth longitude of 122 degrees.
Operated by Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology of China, Yunhai-1 2 is a government satellite launched for the purpose of earth observation (Earth Science).
A sun-synchronous LEO satellite, it was launched into space using Long March 2D as the launch vehicle from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on 25 September 2019. Yunhai-1 2 was constructed by Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) (China).
Yunhai-1 2 orbits around the Earth with the COSPAR ID 2019-063A and NORAD ID 44547.
With an orbital eccentricity of 2.10E-04, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 782km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 785km. It takes 101 minutes to orbit the Earth at an inclination of 99 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
Yaogan 30-9-1 is a military satellite operated by Chinese Ministry of National Defense (China) for the purpose of earth observation (Electronic Intelligence).
Constructed by China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) (China), it was launched into space using Long March 2C as the launch vehicle from Xichang Satellite Launch Center on 18 June 2021. Yaogan 30-9-1 orbits around the Earth as a non-polar inclined LEO satellite.
Yaogan 30-9-1 navigates with the COSPAR ID 2021-055A and NORAD ID 48860.
Taking 96 minutes to orbit the Earth, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 592km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 601km. The eccentricity of the orbit is 6.46E-04 and it orbits at an inclination of 35 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
Second heaviest satellite launched from Yellow Sea Launch Platform into space at 40 kg
A commercial satellite, Jilin-1 Gaofen 03B-01 is operated by Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd. of China for the purpose of earth observation (Optical Imaging).
Delivered via Long March 11 (launch vehicle) from Yellow Sea Launch Platform, it was launched into space on 14 September 2020 and orbits the Earth as a sun-synchronous LEO satellite. Jilin-1 Gaofen 03B-01 was constructed by Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd. (China).
Jilin-1 Gaofen 03B-01 has a launch mass of 40 kg and orbits around the Earth with the COSPAR ID 2020-065A and NORAD ID 46454.
With an orbital eccentricity of 1.16E-03, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 531km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 547km. It takes 95 minutes to orbit the Earth at an inclination of 98 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
Compare Jilin-1 Gaofen 03B-01 with OneWeb-0170 from United Kingdom.
Heaviest satellite launched by Ningxia Jingui Information Technology Co. Ltd. into space at 100 kg
Ningxia-1 01 is a commercial satellite operated by Ningxia Jingui Information Technology Co. Ltd. (China) for the purpose of earth observation.
A non-polar inclined LEO satellite, it was launched into space using Long March 6 as the launch vehicle from Taiyuan Launch Center on 13 November 2019. Ningxia-1 01 was constructed by DFH Satellite Co. Ltd. (China).
Ningxia-1 01 has a launch mass of 100 kg and navigates with the COSPAR ID 2019-076A and NORAD ID 44779.
Taking 103 minutes to orbit the Earth, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 887km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 898km. The eccentricity of the orbit is 7.57E-04 and it orbits at an inclination of 45 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
Operated by 21st Century Aerospace Technology (21AT) of China, Beijing-3 is a commercial satellite launched for the purpose of earth observation (Optical Imaging).
Constructed by Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CASC) (China), it was launched into space using Long March 2D as the launch vehicle from Taiyuan Launch Center on 11 June 2021. Beijing-3 orbits around the Earth as a sun-synchronous LEO satellite.
Beijing-3 orbits around the Earth with the COSPAR ID 2021-050A and NORAD ID 48840.
With an orbital eccentricity of 1.09E-03, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 487km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 502km. It takes 95 minutes to orbit the Earth at an inclination of 98 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
Heaviest satellite launched by Guodian Gaoke into space at 50 kg
Designed for technology development, Tianqi-14 is a commercial satellite operated by Guodian Gaoke (China).
A non-polar inclined LEO satellite, it was launched into space using Long March 2C as the launch vehicle from Xichang Satellite Launch Center on 18 June 2021. Tianqi-14 was constructed by Guodian Gaoke (China).
Tianqi-14 has a launch mass of 50 kg and orbits around the Earth with the COSPAR ID 2021-055E and NORAD ID 48864.
With an orbital eccentricity of 8.62E-04, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 587km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 599km. It takes 97 minutes to orbit the Earth at an inclination of 35 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
Second heaviest GEO satellite launched into space at 7,600 kg
Designed for technology development, Shijian 20 is a government satellite operated by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) (China).
A sun-synchronous GEO satellite, it was launched into space using Long March 5 as the launch vehicle from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on 27 December 2019. Shijian 20 was constructed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC) (China).
With a launch mass of 7,600kg, Shijian 20 is designed to operate in space for a lifetime of 20 years. It orbits around the Earth with the COSPAR ID 2019-097A and NORAD ID 44910.
With an orbital eccentricity of 8.66E-04, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 35,751km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 35,824km. It takes 1,436 minutes to orbit the Earth along the longitude of 125 degrees.
Second heaviest satellite launched by Chinese Ministry Of National Defense into space at 4,200 kg
Beidou 3 IGSO-3 is a military and government satellite operated by Chinese Ministry of National Defense (China) for the purpose of navigation and global positioning.
Constructed by Space Technology Research Institute (part of CASC) (China), it was launched into space on 5 November 2019 using Long March 3B as the launch vehicle from Xichang Satellite Launch Center. Beidou 3 IGSO-3 orbits around the Earth as a GEO satellite.
Beidou 3 IGSO-3 has a launch mass of 4,200 kg and is expected to have a operational lifetime of 8 years. It navigates with the COSPAR ID 2019-073A and NORAD ID 44709.
Beidou 3 IGSO-3 orbits along the longitude of 107 degrees at an inclination of 58 degrees.
The satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 35,681km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 35,896km. Its orbit has an eccentricity of 2.55E-03 and it takes 1,436 minutes to orbit the Earth.
Get more insights from these satellite datasets
Full datasets: All satellites by launch date | The Heaviest Satellites That Are Launched to Space
By Use Type: Civil-use satellites | Commercial satellites | Government satellites | Military satellites
By Country: USA | UK | France | Germany | Japan | China | Russia | Australia | Canada
By Orbit Class/Type: LEO satellites | MEO satellites | GEO satellites | Elliptical orbit | Polar orbit | Equatorial orbit | Non-polar inclined orbit | Sun-synchronous orbit | Molniya orbit
By Operators: SpaceX | EUTELSAT | SES | European Space Agency (ESA) | Planet Labs | Iridium | Spire Global | OneWeb | Swarm Technologies | NASA - Dataset of Satellites Launched (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) | Canadian Space Agency (CSA) - Dataset of Satellites Launched
By Launch Vehicle: Falcon 9 | Ariane 5 | Ariane 5 ECA | Delta 2 | Dnepr | Electron | Falcon Heavy | Long March 2C | Long March 2D | Long March 3B | Pegasus | Proton | Proton M | PSLV | Rokot | Soyuz | Soyuz-2.1b | Vega
By Launch Vehicle: Cape Canaveral | Baikonur Cosmodrome | Guiana Space Center | International Space Station | Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 | Satish Dhawan Space Centre | Taiyuan Launch Center | Vandenberg AFB | Xichang Satellite Launch Center | Boeing Satellite Systems | Airbus Defense and Space | EADS Astrium | Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems | Space Systems/Loral | Surrey Satellite Technology | Technical University Berlin | Thales Alenia Space