China Achieves Record 72 Orbital Launches in 2025, Solidifying Global Space Presence

China's space program reached a new operational peak over the weekend of November 8-9, 2025, successfully completing 72 orbital launch missions for the year. This figure establishes a new national single-year record, surpassing the previous benchmark of 68 launches recorded in 2024. The sustained high tempo underscores a significant maturation within the nation's domestic launch capabilities, involving both established state entities and newer commercial operators.

The record was advanced through several key missions conducted on Saturday, November 8. A Long March 11H vehicle placed three Shiyan-32 technology test satellites into orbit. Later that same night, a Long March 12 rocket successfully deployed broadband satellites designated for the growing SatNet megaconstellation, which is planned to eventually comprise 13,000 orbital assets. In parallel, the private sector contributed to the milestone when CAS Space executed a flawless launch of two Earth-observing test satellites utilizing its Kinetica-1 rocket on the same day.

However, the inherent risks of rocketry were highlighted on Sunday, November 9, when Galactic Energy experienced an upper stage anomaly during a Ceres-1 launch, resulting in the loss of three satellites. This setback provides essential data regarding the challenges accompanying rapid scaling in commercial space ventures. Despite this incident, the overall success rate reflects a deep national commitment to mastering access to space, focusing on enhancing capabilities in remote sensing and global communication infrastructure.

This accelerated output positions China as the second most active nation globally by launch count in 2025. This context emerges against the backdrop of intense international competition, particularly with the United States, which continues to lead the industry with over 150 missions conducted in the same period, largely driven by the high-cadence operations of companies like SpaceX. This period of rapid capability enhancement follows other national achievements, such as the crewed mission to the Tiangong space station on October 31, 2025, signaling an era of increasingly democratized, yet competitive, access to space.