Over three days, from July 22 to 24, China conducted three rocket launches that deployed 15 satellites. These missions, carried out by the companies Orienspace Gravity-1, CZ-3B, and CAS Space Lijian-1, included payloads for artificial intelligence processing and space debris monitoring.
The Orienspace Gravity-1 Y4 mission placed nine satellites into orbit from Eastern China. The CZ-3B rocket was used to launch Tianlian-2 06 from Sichuan. The CAS Space Lijian-1 Y15 agency delivered five satellites, including the first commercial space debris monitor and AI-based computing units.
The payloads demonstrate a clear trend toward the application of AI and task orientation. The CAS Space mission delivered Gande-1 01, which is the first commercial satellite for space debris observation, equipped with high-resolution and wide-field-of-view cameras. The Jitianxing A-04 satellite, developed jointly by Zhejiang Lab, Yunjian Information, MUSA GPU, and partners, uses a bore model for autonomous state management and independent mission planning, and is equipped with an intelligent MUSA GPU-based computing payload, an onboard router, and a laser communication terminal.
Furthermore, the Xiguang-2 03 satellite provides infrared sounding with three bands, while Yinglong Fengguang-1 carries meteorological microwave and infrared payloads.
During the Orienspace Gravity-1 mission, the Lilac-3 satellite was launched. This apparatus is described as China's first UFO-shaped satellite, featuring an ultra-thin, lightweight, and highly integrated design compared to traditional CubeSats. It serves as a test platform for the low-cost deployment of global university satellite constellations. The onboard high-performance star tracker functions as a celestial eye for controlling satellite orientation and is the primary source of data for space situational awareness. This mission marks the fourth flight of Gravity-1, continuing Orienspace's pace of rapid launches, while the reusable liquid-fueled rocket Gravity-2 is under development for the fourth quarter of 2026.
CAS Space Lijian-1 successfully launched 110 satellites across 15 flights with a total payload mass exceeding 16 tons, becoming the only commercial rocket in China to surpass the threshold of 100 launched satellites. Deputy Commander Meng Xiangfu emphasized that this achievement is not just a number but confirmation of product maturity and delivery capability. The rocket has fully passed technological verification and engineering research to reach the stage of mature serial production and frequency-normalized launch. The rocket has served over 30 clients, including six international customers.
Chief Designer Shi Xiaonin noted that the rocket has captured one hundred percent market share in China's external commercial market. Thanks to specialized, joint, and flexible models, as well as standardized interfaces, CAS Space guarantees launch windows, ensuring rare reliability. The achievement of mature rocket technology is gradually lowering barriers across the entire commercial aerospace industry chain.
The Wentian scientific laboratory module, launched in July 2022, has reached four years of stable operation in orbit. This module is the first specialized module for scientific experiments in the country, supporting capacity for six crew members and external exposure.
The Wentian module measures 17.9 meters in length, 4.2 meters in diameter, and weighs 23 tons. It functions as a multi-functional research platform and serves as a backup for the main Tianhe module, capable of fully controlling the space station combination if necessary. The deployment of this module into orbit demonstrates China's progress from manned spaceflight capabilities to establishing sustainable orbital scientific research infrastructure.
The module's design includes three compartments: a working compartment, a docking compartment, and a resource compartment. The working compartment is equipped with three sleeping berths for the crew and one hygiene zone, allowing the Tiangong space station to accommodate up to six astronauts simultaneously. This is where the Shenzhou-14 crew arrived for the first time in Chinese space history, when astronauts Chen Dong and Liu Yang met the Shenzhou-15 crew aboard Wentian. In addition to crew accommodation, the module provides extensive space for experimental racks for research in materials science, hydrodynamics, combustion science, and life sciences under microgravity conditions.
The docking compartment represents a significant infrastructural breakthrough. Thanks to its 'square outside—round inside' design, the external square hull serves as a platform for external exposure experiments, while the internal cylindrical space is used as an astronaut egress channel for extravehicular activities (EVA). A one-meter diameter hatch allows passage for astronauts and movement of large equipment for external operations. The first spacewalk from Wentian occurred on September 1, 2022, when the Shenzhou-14 crew conducted EVA through this hatch, which offers a more spacious preparation area and smoother internal surfaces compared to the Tianhe module unit.
Another innovation is the ability to generate energy. Dual-axis flexible solar wings unfold over 55 meters, with each wing providing approximately 110 square meters of effective energy generation area. Daily power generation exceeds 430 kWh, ensuring sufficient power for scientific research and station operations. The flexible solar array technology, which can be folded during launch and deployed in orbit, is a major engineering achievement in China's aerospace energy systems.
The four-year anniversary coincides with the achievement of operational maturity for the complete Tiangong space station, which is now in a permanent configuration with the Tianhe, Wentian, and Mengtian modules. The station has hosted numerous crew rotations and conducted hundreds of experiments covering space biomedicine, materials science, fundamental physics, and Earth observation. The Wentian external exposure platform continues to conduct experiments on material exposure and space environment monitoring. The module's sustained operation confirms China's approach to modular space station architecture and positions the country for long-term human presence in low Earth orbit within the planned lifespan of Tiangong, supporting preparations for future deep space exploration and international cooperation.
