China successfully sent a new data relay satellite into orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province on July 23, 2026.
The Tianlian II-06 satellite was launched at 8 p.m. (Beijing Time) aboard a Long March-3B carrier rocket and entered its planned orbit.
Tianlian II-06 is primarily used to provide data relay and TT&C (telemetry, tracking and command) services for crewed spacecraft such as spaceships and space stations, for medium- and low-Earth-orbit resource satellites, and TT&C support for spacecraft launches.
This was the 658th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.
