China resumes Guowang launches after 32-day pause
What happened
A Long March 12 rocket launched nine more Guowang satellites from Wenchang on September 17, the constellation's 25th deployment and its first since August 16. The gap is longer than any since the program's recovery from an August failure. The pace still falls far short of the roughly 30 satellites a month needed to meet a 2029 ITU filing deadline. Two independent trackers confirmed the launch and a cumulative total of about 204 satellites in orbit.
Read-across for SES
Guowang is one of three Chinese mega-constellations SES treats as existential competition in the sovereign-connectivity markets it is chasing with IRIS² and O3b mPOWER. A resumed launch cadence, even below the ITU-mandated pace, keeps that competitive clock running rather than confirming a stall SES could discount.
As the brief filed it
[AGE: 15h] China resumed Guowang launches with a 25th group of nine satellites, ending a 32-day gap and taking the constellation past 200 in orbit.