China's state-owned launch provider CASC successfully deployed nine Guowang broadband satellites aboard a Long March 12 rocket on January 19, 2026. The Guowang constellation represents China's ambitious effort to establish global internet coverage through low Earth orbit satellite networks. The nine satellites launched on this mission marked a significant milestone in accelerating the constellation's deployment phase, bringing the project closer to operational capacity for providing broadband connectivity to underserved regions.

The Long March 12 lifted off from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on China's Hainan Island. As a heavy-lift launch vehicle, the Long March 12 is engineered to carry substantial payloads to low Earth orbit, making it particularly well-suited for constellation deployment missions that require transporting multiple satellites simultaneously. The selection of Wenchang as the launch site underscores China's strategic use of its southernmost spaceport for major commercial and government space missions.

The mission concluded successfully, with all nine satellites reaching their intended orbits. This launch demonstrated the Long March 12's growing operational role in advancing China's megaconstellation initiatives. The successful deployment highlighted the vehicle's reliability and payload capacity while contributing measurably to Guowang's timeline for achieving comprehensive global coverage.