Wenchang City, Hainan Province, south China - Sept 17, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of Long March-12 rocket lifting off from Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site

FILE: Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone, northwest China - Sept 1, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
2. Pallas-1 rocket lifting off on maiden flight

Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone, northwest China - Sept 15, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Zhuque-2E rocket lifting off

Shanghai, China - Sept 16, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Various of Gravity-1 rocket lifting off from sea platform

Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone, northwest China - Sept 20, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
5. Various of Lijian-1 Y18 rocket lifting off

FILE: Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone, northwest China - August - September 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Various of Lijian-1 rocket undergoing pre-launch preparations

FILE: Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, south China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
7. Various of Lijian-1 rocket being assembled at CAS Space industralization base

Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, south China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
8. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Xiang Zebin, deputy chief designer of Lijian-1 carrier rocket, CAS Space (starting with shot 7/ending with shot 9):
"We have adopted a pulse-line production model, dividing the final assembly of each rocket among six or seven fixed workstations, with different assembly tasks carried out at each one."


FILE: Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, south China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
9. Various of workers assembling Lijian-1 rocket

Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone, northwest China - Sept 15, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
10. Aerial shot of Zhuque-2E rocket lifting off

Shanghai, China - Sept 16, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
11. Various of Gravity-1 rocket lifting off from sea platform

China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
12. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Bu Xiangwei, chairman, Orienspace (starting with shot 11):
“As we move from one rocket to 100, we have to think in industrial terms: can we produce rockets at scale while continuing to deliver successful launches? That depends on ensuring consistency from one vehicle to the next.”

Wenchang City, Hainan Province, south China - Sept 10, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
13. Aerial shots of Long March-10B rocket on launchpad
14. Various of Long March-10B first stage descending toward recovery vessel

FILE: Minqin County, Wuwei City, Gansu Province, northwest China - Aug 19, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
15. Various of Zhuque-3 Y2 first stage descending

Wenchang City, Hainan Province, south China - Sept 10, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
16. Various of Long March-10B first stage descending toward recovery vessel

China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
17. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wang Xinyan, general manager of supply chain management, LandSpace (starting with shot 16/partially overlaid with shots 18-19):
"Reusing rockets multiple times can significantly reduce overall launch costs. I believe that within five to 10 years, we will be able to match international benchmarks for launch costs per kilogram."

++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone, northwest China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
18. Zhuque-2E rocket on launch pad

FILE: Minqin County, Wuwei City, Gansu Province, northwest China - Aug 19, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
19. Zhuque-3 Y2 first stage resting on landing zone
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++

FILE: Beijing, China - August 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
20. Various of Lingzhi-09 Thai CubeSat being assembled, tested

Nanning City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, south China - Sept 17-21, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
21. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Huang Heping, general manager of international business development, GalaxySpace (starting with shot 20/partially overlaid with shot 22):
"This demonstrates that our satellite products, end-to-end satellite solutions and service capabilities are ready for overseas markets. Over the next three to five years, we aim to build a well-developed network of resources and deliver successful projects in Belt and Road partner countries, particularly across ASEAN."

++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: Beijing, China - August 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
22. Various of engineers working on satellite in cleanroom
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++

Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone, northwest China - Sept 15, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
23. Various of Zhuque-2E rocket lifting off

FILE: China - Exact Location and Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
24. Various of rockets lifting off 

Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone, northwest China - Sept 15, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
25. Zhuque-2E rocket lifting off

Beijing, China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
26. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Yang Yuguang, chairman of Space Transportation Committee, International Astronautical Federation (starting with shot 25/ending with shots 27-28):
"The string of successful launches across multiple rocket types shows that both state-backed developers and private companies have reached a high level of technological maturity. Rocketry's advanced technologies are also helping drive upgrades in related products and manufacturing."

Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone, northwest China - Sept 15, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
27. Various of Zhuque-2E rocket undergoing pre-launch preparations

FILE: China - Exact Location and Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
28. Various of rockets being assembled, undergoing pre-launch preparations

China carried out a record 70 rocket launch missions in the first nine months of 2026, up by about 19 percent from a year earlier, as its commercial space industry accelerated mass production, advanced reusable rocket technology and expanded satellite services overseas.
 
Ten launches took place in September alone. The Pallas-1 rocket made its maiden flight, adding a new model to China's commercial launch fleet, while Zhuque-2E and Gravity-1 became the first privately developed rockets to support the deployment of a low-Earth-orbit satellite internet constellation.

The surge in constellation launches is putting pressure on rocket makers to deliver vehicles faster and at lower cost. On Sept. 20, the Lijian-1 Y18 rocket placed nine satellites into orbit, continuing a launch cadence that has become roughly monthly for the model.

CAS Space, the commercial rocket maker behind Lijian-1, has cut the vehicle's final assembly cycle from three months to about 15 days by reorganizing production.

"We have adopted a pulse-line production model, dividing the final assembly of each rocket among six or seven fixed workstations, with different assembly tasks carried out at each one," said Xiang Zebin, deputy chief designer of the Lijian-1 carrier rocket at CAS Space.

 
Other commercial rocket companies are also beginning production before orders are finalized, shortening the time between receiving a contract and carrying out a launch. Several are developing multiple rocket models in parallel while building the capacity for batch deliveries.
 
"As we move from one rocket to 100, we have to think in industrial terms: can we produce rockets at scale while continuing to deliver successful launches? That depends on ensuring consistency from one vehicle to the next," said Bu Xiangwei, chairman of private Chinese launch company Orienspace.

 
Reusable technology is another focus as companies seek to lower costs and increase launch frequency for large satellite constellations.

On July 10, the Long March-10B completed the world's first recovery of a rocket stage using a net system at sea. On Aug. 19, LandSpace's Zhuque-3 Y2 carried out China's first controlled land recovery of an orbital-class rocket's first stage using landing legs. The two recovered stages are being inspected and refurbished in preparation for future flights.

"Reusing rockets multiple times can significantly reduce overall launch costs. I believe that within five to 10 years, we will be able to match international benchmarks for launch costs per kilogram," said Wang Xinyan, general manager of supply chain management at private rocket developer LandSpace.

China's commercial satellite companies are also looking overseas as domestic launch capacity expands. GalaxySpace's Lingzhi-09 Thai CubeSat was launched in August, marking the first time a Chinese commercial space company had completed satellite development, launch and in-orbit delivery for a Southeast Asian country.
 
"This demonstrates that our satellite products, end-to-end satellite solutions and service capabilities are ready for overseas markets. Over the next three to five years, we aim to build a well-developed network of resources and deliver successful projects in Belt and Road partner countries, particularly across ASEAN," said Huang Heping, general manager of international business development at commercial satellite maker GalaxySpace.

 
China's first-nine-month launch total was 11 higher than the 59 recorded in the same period last year. The rise reflects a broader shift from individual satellite missions toward constellation deployment, batch launches and a more diverse range of space-based services.

 
"The string of successful launches across multiple rocket types shows that both state-backed developers and private companies have reached a high level of technological maturity. Rocketry's advanced technologies are also helping drive upgrades in related products and manufacturing," said Yang Yuguang, chairman of the Space Transportation Committee of the International Astronautical Federation.