QianFan 213

Description

QianFan 213 is the thirteenth of 18 simultaneously launched Chinese communication satellites, which make up the SpaceSail Polar Group 13 mission. They have Ku, Q, and V band payloads. The rocket took a southerly trajectory suitable for a payload going to a SSO.

These satellites are operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies for the G60 constellation with funding backed by the Shanghai local government. The initial constellation will consist of 1,296 satellites by 2027, with long-term plans to expand it to 12,000 satellites.

Each satellite weighs 300 kilograms with a ‘flat pack’ design, with a single solar array, to fit as many satellites as possible inside the rocket fairing in two parallel stacks. For maneuvering in orbit, each satellite has an electric hall-effect thruster burning krypton to generate 20 millinewtons of thrust, with a specific impulse of 1,385 seconds.

The majority of previous batch deployments flew on Chang Zheng 6A (CZ-6A) rockets out of Taiyuan, reaching near-polar orbits at altitudes of roughly 800 to 1,070 km. The constellation has drawn sustained criticism from the global astronomy community, with researchers warning that Qianfan spacecraft are visible to the naked eye and will streak photographic research images in ways that software cannot fully correct.

The standard CZ-6A configuration launched this mission. The two stage rocket, equipped with four solid rocket boosters, carries up to 6,500 kg to a 500 km SSO.

This is the 25th mission of the Long March 6A (CZ-6A) and the 159th orbital launch attempt of 2026.