China's Space Programmes
China operates the world's second-largest satellite fleet, and the fastest-growing. Orbital Radar tracks 1,340 active Chinese spacecraft — a fleet that spans consumer broadband, global navigation, weather, high-resolution imaging, military reconnaissance and a permanently crewed space station. Each programme below links to its own live page.
Launch Cadence
China's launch rate has more than doubled since 2019, driven by mega-constellation deployment and a growing commercial launch sector. It set a national record of 92 orbital launches in 2025.
Notable Chinese Satellites
A snapshot of the fleet's breadth — every entry links to a live orbital profile:
| Satellite | NORAD | Programme | Orbit | Launched |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSS (TIANHE) | 48274 | Tiangong station | LEO · ~390 km | 2021 |
| QIANFAN-1 | 60379 | Qianfan broadband | LEO · ~1,080 km | 2024 |
| HULIANWANG DIGUI-01 | 62323 | Guowang broadband | LEO · ~1,170 km | 2024 |
| BEIDOU-3 M24 | 58655 | BeiDou navigation | MEO · ~21,500 km | 2023 |
| GAOFEN-14 | 47231 | CHEOS Earth observation | SSO · ~500 km | 2020 |
| YAOGAN-41 | 58582 | Military reconnaissance | GEO · 35,786 km | 2023 |
| FENGYUN-4B | 48808 | Weather | GEO · 35,786 km | 2021 |
| GAOFEN 1 | 39150 | First of the Gaofen series | SSO · ~650 km | 2013 |
Browse every tracked satellite in the Directory →
Mega-Constellations
China's biggest orbital growth engine is broadband. Guowang (state-run, ~13,000 planned) and Qianfan (commercial, ~15,000 planned) together hold licences for more than 28,000 satellites — and Orbital Radar tracks 479 already in orbit, with batches launching multiple times per month. Deployment pace, orbital shells and how they compare to Starlink are covered in our Guowang & Qianfan guide, and the wider context in Mega-Constellations Explained.
Navigation: BeiDou
Completed in 2020, BeiDou-3 made China the third nation with fully independent global satellite navigation. Unlike GPS, BeiDou blends MEO, geostationary and inclined-geosynchronous orbits — improving coverage over Asia — and adds two-way short-message service. We currently track 60 BeiDou satellites; see how it compares in Navigation Constellations.
Earth Observation & Reconnaissance
The civil Gaofen series (35 tracked) delivers sub-metre optical, radar and hyperspectral imagery under the CHEOS programme — our Gaofen guide covers the whole family. Its military counterpart, Yaogan (167 tracked), is one of the largest reconnaissance fleets in orbit, while commercial operator Chang Guang's Jilin-1 constellation (24 tracked) sells daily imagery worldwide. Fengyun weather satellites (22 tracked) feed global forecast models — their data is exchanged internationally even when little else is. Yaogan orbit changes and close approaches to other satellites appear on the live Satellite Maneuver Tracker.
Human Spaceflight
The Tiangong space station has been permanently crewed since 2022 — three taikonauts on ~6-month rotations, flown on Shenzhou capsules with Tianzhou freighters for cargo. See the station guide or track it live. China's crewed lunar programme targets a landing before 2030, with the Long March 10 and the Mengzhou crew vehicle in development.
Launch Vehicles & Spaceports
The state Long March family — from the workhorse 2D to the heavy-lift Long March 5B — flies from four national spaceports: Jiuquan, Taiyuan, Xichang and coastal Wenchang, plus new commercial pads on Hainan. A private sector led by ExPace, LandSpace and Galactic Energy adds a growing share of launches — every mission is logged in our launch database.
The Debris Legacy
China is also responsible for one of the worst debris events in history: the 2007 Fengyun-1C anti-satellite test, which created 3,500+ tracked fragments, thousands of which remain in orbit. Uncontrolled Long March 5B core-stage re-entries have drawn international criticism, and the sheer scale of planned mega-constellations raises long-term debris questions — especially at Guowang and Qianfan's high altitudes, where failed satellites can persist for centuries.