Long March 12B Debuts as China's First Reusable Rocket — LEO Constellation Hits 300+ Satellites, Direct-to-Phone Service Goes Nationwide

At 16:40 on June 1, the Long March 12B lifted off from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Zone, precisely delivering the 10th batch of Qianfan (G60) constellation satellites into their intended orbits. This marks the debut of China's first reusable heavy-lift commercial rocket — a two-stage, all-liquid-oxygen/kerosene vehicle standing 72 meters tall with a 4.37-meter core diameter and a 20-tonne-class LEO payload capacity, making it China's most powerful single-core rocket to date. While this maiden flight did not include a booster recovery attempt, follow-on recovery tests are already scheduled, signaling that China's LEO constellation build-out has officially entered the reusable-rocket era. On the industry side, by early June China's three major LEO constellations collectively surpassed 300 in-orbit satellites — approximately 169 for the GW constellation (China SatNet), over 160 for Qianfan (G60), with Honghu still in the technology-demonstration phase. In parallel, all three national carriers — China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Mobile — have received MIIT operating licenses and launched nationwide satellite-direct-to-phone services. Over 40 flagship smartphone models from Huawei, Xiaomi, and others now integrate Tiantong satellite communication modules. The MIIT has also officially launched satellite IoT commercial trials, with Guodian Gaoke's "Tianqi" constellation becoming the first licensed operator — its 41 LEO satellites are already being validated across six major sectors including maritime fisheries, energy, water conservancy, and logistics. On the international standards front, the world's first 6G satellite technology standards document, led by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), has been approved by ITU-R. This accelerating satellite-communications ecosystem is driving strong demand for ground terminals, on-the-move antennas, and servo-stabilization platforms. Repunite's shipborne SATCOM stabilization platform, vehicle-mounted SOTM pan-tilt units, and high-precision servo controllers directly serve the tracking, pointing, and stabilized-communications needs of fixed and mobile ground stations — supporting the ground-segment infrastructure build-out for LEO megaconstellations.