China launched a fourth group of satellites for its Guowang low Earth orbit megaconstellation on Thursday, June 5th, 2025, from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. A Long March 6A rocket successfully lifted off at 4:45 p.m. Eastern (2045 UTC), illuminating the surrounding area with its exhaust plume. Amateur footage captured a striking “jellyfish” effect from the rocket's exhaust in the upper atmosphere.
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced the launch's success over an hour later, confirming that the "satellite Internet low-orbit group 04 satellites" had reached their intended orbit. However, CASC provided no details about the number of satellites deployed or their capabilities, fueling speculation. U.S. Space Force space domain awareness had yet to catalog the objects at the time of reporting.
The secrecy surrounding the satellites has sparked speculation about potential dual-use or national security applications, similar to the Starshield program. The manufacturer of the spacecraft remains undisclosed, although the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) has previously supplied satellites for Guowang, developing both large and small satellite platforms. China Satellite Network Group Co., Ltd. (“China SatNet”) is responsible for the Guowang constellation, which, according to ITU filings from September 2020, aims for a total of 12,992 satellites operating at altitudes below 500 km and between 600–1145 km.
The Guowang constellation is expected to utilize advanced technology including dynamic beam control and optical inter-satellite links, providing high flexibility and customized data services. It will serve both government and civilian users. Previous Guowang launches utilized more powerful rockets such as the Long March 5B and Long March 8A. The Long March 6A rocket, while successful in many launches, has experienced upper stage fragmentation issues, as seen with the Qianfan constellation launch where the upper stage broke up into over 700 pieces of orbital debris. This launch marked China's 33rd orbital launch attempt of 2025, following the May 29 launch of Shijian-26 and the May 28 launch of the Tianwen-2 mission. CNSA confirmed on June 6 that Tianwen-2 was three million kilometers from Earth and operating normally.