China launches classified TJS-16 spacecraft, companion object emerges alongside earlier TJS-15 satellite
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HELSINKI — China launched the new TJS-16 classified satellite on Saturday aboard a Long March 7A rocket, continuing the opaque series of experimental missions.
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A Long March 7A rocket lifted off at 12:05 p.m. Eastern (1605 UTC) March 29 from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on the island province of Hainan. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced launch success around an hour after liftoff, revealing the payload to be the communication technology experiment satellite-16, or Tongxin Jishu Shiyan-16 (TJS-16).
CASC described the TJS-16 satellite as mainly used to verify multi-band and high-speed satellite communication technology. It published neither images nor technical details of the satellite, following the pattern for all previous TJS launches.
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The satellite was developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST), a major arm of CASC. SAST reiterated the terse description of TJS-16 and included a mission patch with its statement.
The TJS series mainly operates in geostationary orbit (GEO). It is seen by Western analysts as potentially carrying out classified missions including signals intelligence, early warning missions and satellite inspection activities to support the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). China now has 15 main TJS satellites in orbit, with no apparent TJS-8 satellite.
TJS-15’s mysterious companion object
The launch of TJS-16 follows the March 9 launch of TJS-15 from Xichang, southwest China, on a Long March 3B rocket, a mission given a similar, brief description in terms of its purposes.
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TJS-15 has since reached the geostationary belt. U.S. Space Force space domain awareness has also cataloged an AKM, or apogee kick motor, associated with the launch, a motor typically used for the final impulse needed to insert a satellite into GEO orbit.
That object now appears to be in an orbit a few hundred kilometres above the GEO belt, as is typical for a spent AKM. Orbital data suggests, however, that the AKM has made a series of small changes to its orbit, suggesting low-thrust propulsion capabilities. The mission could echo an earlier TJS mission.
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The TJS-3 mission, launched in 2018, also had an apparent AKM. However, that object carried out subsequent maneuvers, often synchronized with the main satellite, showing behavior inconsistent with an AKM, which often performs one of few major burns. The mission had intelligence implications and stirred significant analyst interest.
Long March 7A
Saturday’s launch was the ninth flight of the Long March 7A. The 7A variant is a three-stage version of the standard Long March 7 used to launch cargo missions to the Tiangong space station in low Earth orbit.
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The 7A is a 60.1-meter-long, 3.35-meter-diameter kerosene and liquid oxygen launch vehicle with four side boosters. Its first stage and boosters are powered by YF-100 engines. The launcher is capable of delivering up to 7 metric tons of payload to GTO. It features a fairing diameter of 4.2 meters.
The first launch, in 2020, ended in failure. The launcher has been seen as a long-term replacement to the workhorse, hypergolic Long March 3B for launches to GEO. However, the rocket has yet to launch more than twice in a calendar year.
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The TJS-16 mission was China’s 16th orbital launch of 2025. It follows the launch of the Tianlian-2 (04) data relay satellite March 26.China could be targeting 100 or more launches in 2025, driven by growing commercial activity, megaconstellation projects, and new launcher development. A number of new, medium-lift and potentially reusable rockets are targeting debut flights this year.
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HELSINKI — China launched the new TJS-16 classified satellite on Saturday aboard a Long March 7A rocket, continuing the opaque series of experimental missions.
A Long March 7A rocket lifted off at 12:05 p.m. Eastern (1605 UTC) March 29 from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on the island province of Hainan. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced launch success around an hour after liftoff, revealing the payload to be the communication technology experiment satellite-16, or Tongxin Jishu Shiyan-16 (TJS-16).
CASC described the TJS-16 satellite as mainly used to verify multi-band and high-speed satellite communication technology. It published neither images nor technical details of the satellite, following the pattern for all previous TJS launches.
The satellite was developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST), a major arm of CASC. SAST reiterated the terse description of TJS-16 and included a mission patch with its statement.
The TJS series mainly operates in geostationary orbit (GEO). It is seen by Western analysts as potentially carrying out classified missions including signals intelligence, early warning missions and satellite inspection activities to support the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). China now has 15 main TJS satellites in orbit, with no apparent TJS-8 satellite.
TJS-15’s mysterious companion object
The launch of TJS-16 follows the March 9 launch of TJS-15 from Xichang, southwest China, on a Long March 3B rocket, a mission given a similar, brief description in terms of its purposes.
TJS-15 has since reached the geostationary belt. U.S. Space Force space domain awareness has also cataloged an AKM, or apogee kick motor, associated with the launch, a motor typically used for the final impulse needed to insert a satellite into GEO orbit.
That object now appears to be in an orbit a few hundred kilometres above the GEO belt, as is typical for a spent AKM. Orbital data suggests, however, that the AKM has made a series of small changes to its orbit, suggesting low-thrust propulsion capabilities. The mission could echo an earlier TJS mission.
The TJS-3 mission, launched in 2018, also had an apparent AKM. However, that object carried out subsequent maneuvers, often synchronized with the main satellite, showing behavior inconsistent with an AKM, which often performs one of few major burns. The mission had intelligence implications and stirred significant analyst interest.
Long March 7A
Saturday’s launch was the ninth flight of the Long March 7A. The 7A variant is a three-stage version of the standard Long March 7 used to launch cargo missions to the Tiangong space station in low Earth orbit.
The 7A is a 60.1-meter-long, 3.35-meter-diameter kerosene and liquid oxygen launch vehicle with four side boosters. Its first stage and boosters are powered by YF-100 engines. The launcher is capable of delivering up to 7 metric tons of payload to GTO. It features a fairing diameter of 4.2 meters.
The first launch, in 2020, ended in failure. The launcher has been seen as a long-term replacement to the workhorse, hypergolic Long March 3B for launches to GEO. However, the rocket has yet to launch more than twice in a calendar year.
The TJS-16 mission was China’s 16th orbital launch of 2025. It follows the launch of the Tianlian-2 (04) data relay satellite March 26.China could be targeting 100 or more launches in 2025, driven by growing commercial activity, megaconstellation projects, and new launcher development. A number of new, medium-lift and potentially reusable rockets are targeting debut flights this year.
