The launches of SatNet and Spacesail in Q2 2025 were almost certainly delayed because of launcher and launch site issues. Three launch campaigns were attempted:
CZ-8 Y5, certainly carrying Genesat-made Spacesail, was attempted in mid april
CZ-8A Y2, likely carrying SatNets, was attempted in late may
CZ-12 Y2, likely carrying SatNets, was attempted in early may
In the first 2 cases, they were aborted a few days away from launch, the responsibility isn't clear, but all discussions point at either Launcher (CALT) or Launch site (HICAL), Payload don't seem to be blamed
In the later case, it was aborted one hour before launch during fuelling, reports are consistent that it was a launcher issue, requiring a comprehensive root cause analysis.
Hello, thanks for the article.
The launches of SatNet and Spacesail in Q2 2025 were almost certainly delayed because of launcher and launch site issues. Three launch campaigns were attempted:
CZ-8 Y5, certainly carrying Genesat-made Spacesail, was attempted in mid april
CZ-8A Y2, likely carrying SatNets, was attempted in late may
CZ-12 Y2, likely carrying SatNets, was attempted in early may
In the first 2 cases, they were aborted a few days away from launch, the responsibility isn't clear, but all discussions point at either Launcher (CALT) or Launch site (HICAL), Payload don't seem to be blamed
In the later case, it was aborted one hour before launch during fuelling, reports are consistent that it was a launcher issue, requiring a comprehensive root cause analysis.
Thanks for the comment. The launcher issue is something I’ve written about fairly extensively (ie here: https://open.substack.com/pub/chinaspacemonitor/p/the-launch-bottleneck-holding-up?r=223vau&utm_medium=ios), and has been around for much longer than just Q2 2025.
I made no mention of SatNet launch delays in Q2, because their launches have been much more sporadic in general.
Any theory on why we still haven’t seen the launch of CZ-8 Y5 considering it was “attempted in mid-April”?
Impressive roundup, Blaine. If readers want the military angle on China's space build-out, my latest piece breaks down the PLA's SATCOM network, including its Guowang later. Read it here: https://ordersandobservations.substack.com/p/chinas-military-satellite-communications