China's Space Programmes
China operates the world's second-largest satellite fleet, and the fastest-growing. Orbital Radar tracks 1,288 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 434 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 61 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 (162 tracked), is one of the largest reconnaissance fleets in orbit, while commercial operator Chang Guang's Jilin-1 constellation (26 tracked) sells daily imagery worldwide. Fengyun weather satellites (22 tracked) feed global forecast models — their data is exchanged internationally even when little else is.
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.