China Resumes Orbital Launches with Zhongxing-26 Satellite Mission

China has resumed its orbital launches after a pause for the Chinese New Year festivities, with the successful launch of the Zhongxing-26 (ChinaSat-26) communications satellite on February 23.

China's Long March 3B rocket lifted off from Xichang, southwest China, at 6:49 a.m. Eastern time and placed the Zhongxing-26 into geosynchronous transfer orbit. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) confirmed the launch's success within the hour. The overall cost of the mission was 2.3 billion yuan ($333 million).

Watch Launch Here -> https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1nv2Vi5B9Vw

The Zhongxing-26 satellite, based on the DFH-4E satellite bus, is equipped with chemical and electric propulsion and provides more than 100 gigabits per second (Gbps). It is China's first satellite capable of offering this level of performance and was developed by CASC's China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). The satellite is equipped with 94 Ka-band user beams, 3.5 times more than its predecessor, the Dongfanghong-3B-based Zhongxing-16 launched in 2017.

Zhongxing-26 will mainly provide broadband access for fixed terminals, aviation, and ship-borne users in China and surrounding areas from 125 degrees East in the geostationary belt. It is described as an essential piece of national space infrastructure that helps meet the country's connectivity requirements.

The launch is the first by China since January 15 and the fifth Long March launch this calendar year, with CASC planning to carry out more than 60 launches in 2023.

Various Chinese commercial companies also intend to add 20 or more launches to the overall figure.

The mission is the first launch of the 56-meter-high Long March 3B rocket in 2023. The three-stage rocket has four boosters and uses a hypergolic mix of hydrazine and dinitrogen tetroxide with a liquid hydrogen-liquid oxygen third stage. Despite the Long March 3B's successful mission, the Long March 7A, touted as a greener, new-generation launcher, is yet to ramp up its launch rate to replace the aging Long March 3B. It most recently launched a pair of classified satellites on January 9, using kerosene-liquid oxygen and launching from the coast at Wenchang.