🚀 Chang Zheng 6A | 🛰 Yaogan 40 Group 02
Launch date: May 11, 2025 13:27 UTC
Payload: Yaogan 40 Group 02
Location: LC-9A, Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, Shanxi Province, China
Vehicle: Chang Zheng 6A
China successfully launched the Yaogan 40 Group 02, a trio of CAST-developed and classified Earth observation satellites, aboard a Chang Zheng 6A (Long March 6A) rocket from LC-9A at Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on May 11, 2025. The satellites are designed for electromagnetic environment detection, technical tests, and probing in polar orbit as part of China’s secretive Yaogan series. The mission featured an extended fairing and upgraded second stage, marked the 574th mission of the Long March rocket series, and set a new pad turnaround record. It was the 99th orbital launch of 2025, further demonstrating China’s growing presence in low-Earth orbit and capability for rapid, high-cadence launch campaigns.
LC-9A, Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, Shanxi Province, China
LC-9A, located within the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi Province, serves as a key launch pad for the Chang Zheng 6A (CZ-6A or Long March 6A) vehicle. The facility is under the management of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) and supports a range of space missions, with a particular focus on launching satellites into sun-synchronous and polar orbits.
The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center is one of China’s primary spaceports, with LC-9A representing a newer addition designed to support the latest generation of launch vehicles. The pad has seen launches for various governmental and commercial satellite missions, contributing to China’s expanding capabilities in the field of space technology and satellite deployment.