Blastoffs! China launches pair of rockets on back to back days

China launched two missions on Sept. 19, 2026. A Lijian-1 rocket lifted off from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone at 12:03 a.m. EDT (12:03 p.m. Beijing Time), successfully deploying nine satellites into their planned orbits. The mission marked the 16th flight of the Lijian-1 rocket. Later that day, a Long March-2D launched the PIESAT-2 13–16 satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 6:50 a.m. EDT (6:50 p.m. Beijing Time). The satellites reached their planned orbits, marking the 668th flight of the Long March rocket series. Source: