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Present at the meeting were officials from Shanghai Spacesail Technologies Co Ltd (上海垣信卫星科技有限公司), operator of the mega-constellation, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation1 (https://www.china-in-space.com/p/jiuquan-set-to-host-first-qianfan#footnote-1-189720262), and a delegation from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The last participant is notable as no Qianfan launches have occurred yet from that launch site, but other smaller-sized satellite constellations (https://www.china-in-space.com/p/new-ai-processing-satellites-long) have.
The meeting, however, had no launch provider present, but there are a few suitable launch vehicles at Jiuquan. One vehicle is the China Aerospace Science and Technology Commercial Launch Vehicle Group Co Ltd's (中国航天科技集团商业火箭有限公司) partially reusable Long March 12B, able to put 15,000 kilograms into a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit within its 5.2-meter-diameter fairing. Back in January, the launch vehicle completed its pre-flight first-stage static fire (https://www.china-in-space.com/p/reusable-long-march-12b-fires-up) with a full flight vehicle fuelled up and placed onto its dedicated Jiuquan pad. Since then, the Long March 12B has remained in its flight preparation facility, likely awaiting a potential payload.
In a similar situation to the Long March 12B is Space Pioneer's Tianlong-3, capable of placing up to 17,000 kilograms into sun-synchronous orbit. The initially expendable launch vehicle has been undergoing testing at Jiuquan since mid-November 2025 (https://www.china-in-space.com/p/tianlong-3-quietly-arrives-at-jiuquan). By late January, Tianlong-3 was reportedly ready to launch (https://www.china-in-space.com/p/space-pioneers-tianlong-3-ready-to), but it is yet to do so. Around the time the launch vehicle arrived at the launch site, Space Pioneer and Genesat published news of successful tests (https://www.china-in-space.com/i/179419470/deploying-more-qianfan-satellites) with large Qianfan-esque satellite deployment mechanisms. Additionally in February, Space Pioneer completed commissioning of a thirty-six satellite group2 (https://www.china-in-space.com/p/jiuquan-set-to-host-first-qianfan#footnote-2-189720262) processing facility at Jiuquan (https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202602/1354805.shtml).
Like Space Pioneer, LandSpace has also tested a satellite deployment mechanism for Qianfan-like spacecraft recently. Currently LandSpace's Zhuque-3, able to place up to 11,800 kilograms into orbit with its current design, is several weeks away from being at Jiuquan or launching for a second time. At present, Zhuque-3 is expected to perform its second flight between April and June (https://www.china-in-space.com/p/landspace-wants-to-reuse-zhuque-3), depending on the timeliness and outcome of an investigation into its failed first-stage landing in December 2025 (https://www.china-in-space.com/p/landspace-successfully-debuts-zhuque).
Last year in August (https://www.china-in-space.com/p/qianfan-tests-in-kazakhstan-awards?utm_source=publication-search), both Space Pioneer and LandSpace were contracted3 (https://www.china-in-space.com/p/jiuquan-set-to-host-first-qianfan#footnote-3-189720262) by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies to prove themselves capable of launching at least one Qianfan satellite group by the end of March. That deadline has likely been extended due to both constellation satellite and launch vehicle readiness.
Interestingly, the new satellite group mentioned in the meeting is designated Polar Group 08. The last Qianfan group was numbered '18' (https://www.china-in-space.com/p/qianfan-returns-with-taiyuan-launch), a significant jump from prior groups (in deployment order: '01', '02', '03', '06', '05'). That jump was caused by a handful of hardware issues (https://www.china-in-space.com/p/shanghai-backed-qianfan-constellation) found during orbit-raising maneuvers last year, resulting in a seven-month pause as the satellite groups were returned to the manufacturers for inspections and fixes. Polar Group 08 could be one of those groups.
Relevant to last year's launch halt is the fact that a handful of launches were booked with the Long March 8 out of the Wenchang Commercial Launch Site and are yet to take place. No mention of when those launches may occur has been shared by the launch sites operator, Shanghai Spacesail Technologies, or a Qianfan satellite manufacturer.
Launches of Qianfan satellites will be particularly critical this year, as Shanghai Spacesail Technologies has received approval from Brazil (https://www.china-in-space.com/p/brazil-approves-qianfan-constellation) to begin commercial operations of connectivity services to consumers. Proving the constellation can provide reliable services should accelerate approvals in Malaysia (https://www.china-in-space.com/p/qianfan-operator-partners-for-services), Kazakhstan (https://www.china-in-space.com/p/qianfan-tests-in-kazakhstan-awards), and Türkiye (https://www.china-in-space.com/p/mega-constellation-operators-ink)...