China Launches Yaogan-46 Satellite via Long March 7A, Testing New Fairing Variant
Summary: China launched the Yaogan-46 remote sensing satellite via a Long March 7A rocket on July 25, 2026, testing a new fairing variant for the vehicle.
China successfully launched the Yaogan-46 remote sensing satellite from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan island at 10:32 p.m. Beijing time (14:32 UTC, 10:32 a.m. Eastern) on July 25, 2026. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) confirmed that the satellite was accurately placed into its planned orbit.
A key highlight of the mission was the debut of a new, longer fairing variant for the Long March 7A rocket. According to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), a CASC subsidiary, the new fairing measures 4.2 meters in diameter and 17.6 meters in length, up from the previous 12.7-meter fairing. The extended fairing enables the rocket to accommodate larger payloads and meet the requirements of more complex missions going forward.
The Long March 7A stands 60.1 meters tall and is primarily designed to deliver spacecraft into geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO), with a payload capacity of approximately 7 metric tons. The rocket last flew in March 2026.
Few details have been officially disclosed about the Yaogan-46 satellite itself, though the Yaogan series is widely regarded by outside observers as comprising military reconnaissance spacecraft. This marks China's 39th orbital launch attempt of 2026 and the 38th success, following a Kuaizhou-1A solid rocket failure on July 22.