China Launches ChinaSat-9C to Enhance Domestic Broadcasting and Replace Aging Satellite

The launch took place at 8:37 a.m. Eastern (1237 UTC) on June 20 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province. A Long March 3B rocket carried the satellite into space, with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) confirming mission success less than an hour after liftoff.

The ChinaSat-9C satellite — also known as Zhongxing-9C — was not previously disclosed prior to the launch announcement. It is intended to replace the aging ChinaSat-9, a French-built satellite launched in 2008 and stationed at 92.2° East in geostationary orbit. ChinaSat-9C is based on the advanced DFH-4E satellite platform, an upgraded version of the widely-used DFH-4 satellite bus developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a division of CASC.

With a liftoff mass of 5,500 kilograms and a planned service life of 15 years, ChinaSat-9C is designed for Broadcast Satellite Services (BSS), including improved TV and radio coverage across the region. It carries Ku-band and other frequency band transponders for high-throughput applications and enhanced transmission capacity.

This latest launch continues China’s efforts to modernize its satellite communications infrastructure. In recent years, older satellites like ChinaSat-9 and ChinaSat-10 have been gradually replaced by newer models. For example:

• ChinaSat-9B, launched in 2021, supports 4K and 8K video broadcasts and replaced the short-lived ChinaSat-9A, which suffered from an orbit insertion anomaly in 2017.
• ChinaSat-10R, launched in February 2025, replaced ChinaSat-10 and is now positioned at 110.5° East.

The ChinaSat series plays a vital role in national television broadcasting, internet access, and secure communications, including military applications. China has deployed over 30 satellites in the series to date, many of them stationed in geostationary orbit (GEO) around 35,786 kilometers above the equator.

In addition to GEO assets, China is actively building two low Earth orbit (LEO) megaconstellations and developing new satellite systems in medium Earth orbit (MEO), alongside its Tianlian relay satellites in GEO.

The U.S. Space Force’s space domain awareness system has cataloged two objects from the launch — one consistent with a satellite in geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) and another, likely the rocket's upper stage, in an unusual elliptical orbit ranging from 218 to 12,430 kilometers. Further tracking data is expected to clarify their trajectories.

Friday’s mission marked the 35th orbital launch of 2025 for China, maintaining the country's high spaceflight tempo. Although June has seen a modest pace with only three launches so far, May featured a flurry of nine missions.

Notable missions this year include:

• Shenzhou-20, which delivered a new crew to the Tiangong space station
• Tianwen-2, China’s ambitious asteroid sample return mission

Looking ahead, the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft is scheduled for launch no earlier than July 14 aboard a Long March 7 rocket from the Wenchang spaceport, further supporting the Tiangong station’s operations.

On the commercial front, private launch companies CAS Space and Landspace are progressing toward the inaugural launches of their Kinetica-2 and Zhuque-3 rockets, respectively. Recent static fire tests of both vehicles’ first stages suggest that their maiden flights — which will carry prototype low-cost cargo spacecraft — are on the horizon.

By Azhar