China launches Tianlian II-06 data relay satellite from Xichang

BEIJING — China has successfully launched a new data relay satellite into orbit, in a mission supporting its crewed spaceflight programme and its growing fleet of Earth observation spacecraft.

The satellite, Tianlian II-06, lifted off on Thursday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China's Sichuan Province aboard a Long March-3B carrier rocket, and entered its planned orbit, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

What the Tianlian II-06 satellite does

Data relay satellites act as orbital communications bridges. Positioned in high orbit, they pass signals between ground stations and spacecraft that would otherwise be out of direct contact for long stretches of each orbit — extending coverage and allowing near-continuous links.

Tianlian II-06 will provide data relay and telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) services for crewed spacecraft including spaceships and space stations, for medium- and low-Earth-orbit resource satellites, and for spacecraft launches.

The Tianlian network and China's space station

The satellite joins China's Tianlian relay network, which underpins communications with the Tiangong space station and its rotating crews, supporting voice and video links, science data transfer and mission control operations.

658th Long March mission

The launch marked the 658th flight of the Long March carrier rocket family, China's workhorse launch vehicle series, which has flown steadily across crewed, lunar, navigation and commercial missions.

China has maintained a high launch cadence in recent years as it expands its space infrastructure, including the Tiangong station, satellite navigation and remote sensing constellations, and planned lunar exploration missions.