July 6, 2015 - China Launches Communication Satellite Into Orbit

If you've seen July 6, 2015 cited as China's satellite launch date, you're looking at incorrect information. The actual launch occurred on July 25, 2015, and it wasn't a communications satellite — China launched two Beidou navigation satellites aboard a Long March 3B rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center. A separate December 2015 mission did carry a Chinese communications satellite, ChinaSat 1C. Stick around, and you'll uncover the full story behind both missions.

Key Takeaways

• China launched two Beidou third-generation navigation satellites (BD-3 M1-S, BD-3 M2-S) on July 25, 2015, not July 6.
• The satellites were carried by a Long March 3B rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province.
• Both satellites, weighing approximately one ton each, reached a near-circular orbit at roughly 22,000 km altitude.
• Orbital insertion was completed over three hours after liftoff using the Yuanzheng upper stage.
• The satellites were the second and third units in China's planned 35-satellite Beidou global navigation constellation.

What Actually Launched on July 6, 2015?

The launch didn't carry a single communication satellite—it carried two Beidou navigation satellites, designated BD-3 M1-S and BD-3 M2-S, each weighing approximately one ton. These weren't communication satellites at all; they were third-generation navigation units built to strengthen China's positioning network.

You should also note the date discrepancy: the actual launch occurred on July 25, 2015, not July 6. The Beidou satellites reached a near-circular orbit at roughly 22,000 kilometers altitude, with orbital insertion completing more than three hours after liftoff. The Yuanzheng upper stage handled that final injection, requiring minimal adjustment afterward.

These two satellites represented the second and third units in a planned 35-satellite constellation designed to deliver global navigation coverage by 2020. Additional Beidou navigation satellites followed later in the year, with further BD-3 launches listed in both the September entries of 2015. The rocket lifted off from Xichang launch center in Sichuan province, China, aboard a Long March 3B vehicle. This kind of staged rollout of a satellite constellation mirrors the incremental domestic experimentation seen in cricket, where limited-overs competitions through the 1960s gradually proved a new format's viability before it was adopted on the world stage.

ChinaSat 1C: The Satellite at the Center of This Mission

Launched on December 9, 2015, ChinaSat 1C sits at the heart of this mission as China's second-generation military communications satellite, officially designated ZX 1C and carrying the military alias Feng Huo 2C. Built on the DFH-4 platform by CAST and weighing 5,320 kg, it operates in geostationary orbit with an 11-year design lifetime.

Its C-band and UHF transponders support secure voice, data, radio, and TV transmission, with encryption protocols safeguarding military communications across global networks. You'll also find it supporting space surveillance and orbit determination roles. Payload redundancy ensures continued operation even if individual systems encounter failures. Much like the audio frequency-shift keying technique used in early commercial modems to convert digital signals into analog form for transmission over existing infrastructure, ChinaSat 1C's transponders similarly encode and transmit data across established communication channels.

As part of the Zhongxing-1x series alongside ChinaSat 1A, 1D, and 1E, it significantly strengthens China's military communications infrastructure. The satellite was launched aboard a Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China. The mission carries the international designator 2015-073A, assigned to identify the satellite within the global catalog of Earth-orbiting objects.

The Long March-3B Rocket That Carried ChinaSat 1C

Carrying ChinaSat 1C into orbit, the Long March-3B is China's most powerful launch vehicle in the Long March family and the heaviest of the Long March 3 series. Introduced in 1996, it stands 56.3 meters tall, weighs 456 metric tons, and generates roughly 3,120 kN of liftoff thrust.

Four liquid-fueled strap-on boosters enhance its liftoff capability, delivering up to 5,500 kg to geosynchronous transfer orbit. You'll find it launches exclusively from Xichang Satellite Launch Center, a landlocked facility that raises serious concerns. Its booster dropzones fall over inhabited regions, and its uncontrolled upper-stage reentries highlight the rocket's broader environmental impact.

Despite these concerns, the Long March-3B remains China's primary workhorse for placing communications satellites, including DFH-2-class payloads, into geosynchronous transfer orbit. The vehicle has supported scientific, civil, and military satellite launches from Xichang Satellite Launch Center since 1984. Notably, the Long March-3B also launched Chang'e 3 lunar lander and the Yutu rover toward the Moon in 2013, demonstrating the rocket's versatility beyond communications satellite missions.

Why Chinasat 1C Launched From Xichang's LA-3 Pad

ChinaSat 1C lifted off from Launch Complex 3 (LC-3), Xichang's primary pad for geosynchronous transfer orbit missions, because it's specifically optimized for Long March 3B/E rockets. The pad's history and launch logistics made it the clear choice over neighboring LC-2. Here's why LC-3 made sense:

1. Rocket Compatibility – LC-3 is purpose-built for Long March 3B/E, matching ChinaSat 1C's mass and orbital requirements.
2. Pad History – Rebuilt twice (2005–2006 and 2013–2015), LC-3 features modern infrastructure supporting high-capacity communications satellites.
3. Launch Logistics – LC-3's southern positioning supports efficient geostationary transfers, reducing fuel demands. The mission marked the 220th flight of the Long March carrier rocket series, underscoring the program's extensive operational experience at sites like Xichang.

Xichang has long served as China's premier launch site for commercial and international payloads, with the facility becoming operational in 1984 and supporting civil, scientific, and military launches annually ever since.

Together, these factors made LC-3 the most reliable and technically sound option for the mission.

How ChinaSat 1C Fit Into China's 2015 Launch Campaign

With LC-3's role established, it's worth examining where ChinaSat 1C sat within China's broader 2015 launch calendar. China maintained an aggressive launch cadence that year, beginning with Long March 6's debut on September 19 from Taiyuan, followed by LAOSAT-1's November 21 liftoff as the 218th Long March mission.

ChinaSat 1C's December 9 launch marked the 220th Long March flight, capping a dense sequence of commercial and government satellite deployments. Beijing Aerospace Control Center's ground station confirmed successful orbit insertion on December 10, 2015, with CNSA's TIAN Yulong overseeing operations.

Each mission reinforced the Long March family's reliability while expanding China's communications constellation. LAOSAT-1, built on the DFH-4S platform by China Academy of Space Technology, was contracted through China Great Wall Industry Corporation on behalf of Laos' Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. This push for expanded satellite infrastructure mirrored global efforts to close connectivity gaps, much like Project Loon's stratospheric balloons sought to deliver broadband to remote and underserved regions through innovative aerial platforms. You can see how ChinaSat 1C wasn't an isolated launch but a deliberate step in China's accelerating push to dominate satellite communications infrastructure. Western analysts assessed the satellite as likely beaming secure communications signals for the Chinese military, underscoring the dual-use nature of Beijing's expanding orbital network.

What ChinaSat 1C Delivered for Chinese Communications

Once in geostationary orbit, ChinaSat 1C brought a versatile communications package to China's satellite infrastructure. Its position enabled continuous geostationary coverage across a wide service area, supporting both civilian and military communications needs.

The satellite delivered three core capabilities:

1. Voice and data transmission — enabling high-quality government and military communications across China's network
2. Radio and television broadcasting — expanding reliable signal distribution to broad audiences
3. UHF and C-band services — providing dual-frequency flexibility for varied operational requirements

You can see why this mattered strategically. ChinaSat 1C didn't just add capacity — it reinforced China's ability to maintain secure, uninterrupted communications infrastructure from a single geostationary platform, strengthening national command and control capabilities for years to come. This capability mirrors what Canada demonstrated in 1974, when a single orbital platform proved sufficient to deliver continent-wide real-time voice, television, and data communications across an entire country. The satellite was built by China Academy of Space Technology, a state enterprise responsible for constructing the majority of China's communications spacecraft.