TAIYUAN, Aug. 25 — China on Tuesday launched a Long March-6C carrier rocket, placing seven satellites into space. The rocket blasted off at 11:21 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China’s Shanxi Province and successfully sent the satellites into the planned orbit.
This launch marked the 665th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series, according to the launch center. Two high-resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites — Zhongke Sat-14 and 15 — carry dedicated space-based cloud payloads, breaking the traditional boundary between remote sensing and cloud computing to create an integrated platform that combines satellite sensing with onboard processing, according to developer GalaxySpace, a key supplier for China’s internet satellite constellation project.
The company said this marks a breakthrough in space-based computing power and serves as an important step in the country’s broader push for a space-based computing network. The two satellites integrate onboard data reception, computing and analysis, delivering stable in-orbit computing power for tasks ranging from data acquisition to real-time delivery.
They cut response times to minutes in flood or earthquake scenarios and significantly reduce bandwidth demand compared with traditional models, according to GalaxySpace. GISTDA Cube Sat 1, also built by GalaxySpace, marks the company’s first full-satellite and ground-system export to a Belt and Road partner country.
Delivered to Thailand’s Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), it will supply land-use, agricultural, and ecological surface data while supporting Thai universities in satellite design, telemetry, and remote-sensing education.
Other satellites aboard include the JAMX01, a microsatellite developed over eight years by Shanghai teachers and students in partnership with a Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology affiliate, aimed at promoting youth science education through hands-on aerospace projects.
