Traffic VDES A & B

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Technology

Low Earth Orbit Launch Area 95A Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Two technology demonstration satellites for satellite transmissions of signals for the VHF Data Exchange System (VDES), a successor to the current Automatic Identification System (AIS) on ships and maritime vessels for traffic management at sea with higher bandwidth on new frequencies for secure communications and e-navigation. This project is a joint effort by the China Ministry of Transport's China Transport Telecommunications Information Center and SpaceSail, operator of the Qianfan/G60 constellation.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 2, 2025, 9:48 p.m.

Added launch per NOTAMs/marine navigation warnings; Payload and launch vehicle identities highly uncertain.


Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 4, 2025, 1:42 a.m.

Delayed to December 5 per new NOTAMs/marine navigation warnings.


Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 5, 2025, 12:18 p.m.

Launch success.


Kuaizhou-1A

Family:
Configuration: 1A

Kuaizhou is a family of Chinese "quick-reaction" orbital launch vehicles. Flying since 2013, Kuaizhou 1 and 1A consist of three solid-fueled rocket stages, with a liquid-fueled fourth stage as part of the satellite system.

Specifications
  • Stages
    4
  • Length
    19.4 m
  • Diameter
    1.4 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    1.4 m
  • Launch Mass
    30.0 T
  • Thrust
Family
  • Name
    Kuaizhou-1A
  • Family
  • Variant
    1A
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Kuaizhou-1A
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
    300.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    250.0 kg

ExPace

ExPace

(EP)

CEO: Zhang Di Founded: 2016 Successes: 27 Failures: 4 Pending: 0

Agency Type:

ExPace is a Chinese space rocket company based in Wuhan, Hubei, China. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of missileer China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), a Chinese state-owned company, and serves as its commercial rocket division. ExPace is focused on small satellite launchers to low Earth orbit.

WIKI

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Launch Area 95A


Long March 2D
Go
7 hours, 50 minutes ago
Unknown Payload
Launch Area 94 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Details TBD.


Electron
Go
8 hours, 30 minutes ago
Raise and Shine (RAISE-4)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

RAISE-4 (RApid Innovative payload demonstration Satellite-4) is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) satellite for on-orbit demonstrations of …


Long March 6A
Go
13 hours, 20 minutes ago
Unknown Payload
Launch Complex 9A - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Details TBD.


Falcon 9
TBC
14 hours, 16 minutes ago
Starlink Group 6-92
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
1 day, 17 hours ago
Starlink Group 11-15
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 28 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 8A
Success
3 days, 3 hours ago
SatNet LEO Group 14
Commercial LC-1 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…


Kuaizhou-1A
Success
4 days, 2 hours ago
Traffic VDES A & B
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Two technology demonstration satellites for satellite transmissions of signals for the VHF Data Exchange System (VDES), a successor to the current Au…


Falcon 9
Success
4 days, 14 hours ago
Starlink Group 11-25
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 28 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Zhuque-3
Success
6 days, 7 hours ago
Demo Flight
Launch Area 96B - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

First test launch of LandSpace’s ZQ-3 rocket, with a dummy payload. The rocket’s 1st stage will attempt to land on a landing pad about 300 km downran…


Falcon 9
Success
6 days, 13 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-95
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.