Shanghai Spacesail Technologies Co Ltd submitted an advance publication information filing likely related to the Qianfan connectivity mega-constellation with plans for 1,296 satellites in thirty-six orbits.
China is also building its own megaconstellations of Internet satellites, including the Qianfan network, which aims to deploy over 15,000 satellites by 2030, and the Guowang, which seeks to launch around 13,000 satellites.
China's Thousand Sails satellite plan, also known as Qianfan or G60, entered its second phase of manufacturing in Shanghai last year.
In August 2025, LandSpace was awarded a demonstration contract for the Qianfan project.
Beijing views reusable launch vehicles as essential for deploying the Guowang and Qianfan megaconstellations, which aim to field nearly 26,000 satellites combined.
GuoWang and Qianfan constellations are expected to have some of their satellite groups produced in the 'super factory'.
Qianfan faced issues that limited its launch capacity.
The 'super factory' is designed to support the rapid deployment of China’s 'Thousand Sails' (Qianfan) low Earth orbit constellation.
Qianfan’s deployment plan as of December 2025 calls for 324 satellites to be launched in 2026, 324 in 2027, 4,000 in 2028 and 2029 combined, and 5,000 in 2030.
Each first-generation Qianfan satellite is specified to provide 20 megabits per second download speed and 5 megabits per second upload speed for a cell phone.
On October 17th a Long March 6A launched Polar Group 18 carrying 18 Qianfan satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center into polar orbit.
Qianfan Polar Group 02 launched 18 satellites on October 15th from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center aboard a Long March 6A and deployed them from the second stage.
The six constellations Qianfan, GuoWang, Honghu-3, Geely Future Mobility, Tianqi, and Three-Body Computing are expected to have a combined satellite count of 50,730 once fully deployed.
On January 23rd a Long March 6A launched Polar Group 06 carrying 18 Qianfan satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center into polar orbit.
Future second-generation Qianfan satellites are planned to weigh between 400 and 500 kilograms.
Qianfan second-generation satellites are planned to weigh between 400 and 500 kilograms and will provide maritime services in addition to terrestrial services.
Each first-generation Qianfan satellite uses a krypton-fueled electric Hall-effect thruster that generates 20 millinewtons of thrust and has a specific impulse of 1,385 seconds.
The Qianfan mega-constellation is operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies Co Ltd, which is partly backed by the municipal government of Shanghai.
On December 5th a Long March 6A launched Polar Group 03 carrying 18 Qianfan satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center into polar orbit.
Qianfan is planned to have up to 15,000 satellites in orbit by 2030.