China successfully launched its Lijian-1 Y11 carrier rocket on December 10, 2025, deploying nine satellites into their designated orbits. The launch included three international payloads for the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Nepal, marking a significant step in China’s commercial space missions. The mission was declared fully successful, demonstrating China’s technical expertise in satellite deployment and orbital operations.
Most of the satellites, developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, will support applications such as urban planning, meteorology, water resource management, and disaster prevention. The UAE satellite is a hyperspectral Earth observation device, while Egypt’s SPNEX satellite monitors climate change and ionospheric variations. Nepal’s Slippers2Sat project focuses on education, providing students and low-income communities hands-on experience in satellite design and amateur radio communications.
This mission represents the 11th orbital flight of the Lijian-1 rocket, which has now delivered 84 satellites into space with a total payload mass exceeding 11 tons. CAS Space has served 32 domestic and international clients, extending its launch-service footprint across multiple continents. Future Lijian-1 launches are planned to include reusable technology and advanced recovery systems, further reducing costs and improving flexibility for commercial space missions.
China aims to integrate parachute-assisted recovery, grid-fin landing control, and reusable rocket technologies through its Lihong series spacecraft. Once operational, these technologies will enable suborbital experiments, space tourism, and repeated use of launch stages.
Related stories:
