ExPaceKuaizhou 1ALaunch Area 95A, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
Traffic VDES A & B
Launched
December 5, 2025 · 09:00 UTC
Image: CASIC
Summary
Traffic VDES A & B launched on an ExPace Kuaizhou 1A from Launch Area 95A, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China on December 5, 2025 at 09:00 UTC. The launch window ran from 08:54 to 09:54 UTC. It was ExPace's 31st launch, 3rd this year and humanity's 7,140th orbital launch attempt. It was the 31st Kuaizhou 1A flight and the 3rd this year. The payload was bound for low Earth orbit (LEO). Jiaotong VDES A, one of 2 catalogued objects, reached a 504 × 522 km orbit inclined 80.4°. 2 objects from this launch are catalogued, all of them payloads.
- Watch
- No webcast on record.
- Vehicle
- Kuaizhou 1A · ExPace
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Technology · Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
- Milestone
- 31st Kuaizhou 1A flight · 3rd this yearExPace's 31st launch3rd this yearhumanity's 7,140th orbital launch attempt291st orbital launch attempt this year
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
Jiaotong VDES A · NORAD 66913 · 2025-284 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 2 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- OBJECT A
- Object ID
- 2025-285A
- Epoch
- 2025-12-05 19:30:25 UTC
- Mean motion
- 15.20033669 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.00128266
- Inclination
- 80.4023°
- Ascending node
- 138.5488°
- Arg. of perigee
- 252.3263°
- Mean anomaly
- 107.6565°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 7
- B*
- 0.00014555981
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: LEO. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile.
Catalogued objects
2 catalogued: 2 payloads; 2 still in orbit
- Jiaotong VDES A · NORAD 66913 · in orbit
- Jiaotong VDES B · NORAD 66914 · in orbit
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
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.
Pad
Launch Area 95A, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
63rd launch from Launch Area 95A, 8th this year · 268th from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
Local pad time at liftoff: Dec 5, 5:00 PM GMT+8, in daylight
68 launches from this pad · 299 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
25 days after the previous launch from this pad
All launches from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of ChinaOpen in maps
Updates
Questions
When did Traffic VDES A & B launch?
Traffic VDES A & B launched on December 5, 2025 at 09:00 UTC. The launch window ran from 08:54 to 09:54 UTC.
Where can I watch Traffic VDES A & B?
No webcast is on record for this launch.
What rocket launched Traffic VDES A & B?
Kuaizhou 1A, flown by ExPace. Kuaizhou 1A spec sheet
Where did Traffic VDES A & B launch from?
Launch Area 95A, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China. Liftoff was Dec 5, 5:00 PM GMT+8 local time at the pad.
What orbit did Traffic VDES A & B reach?
Jiaotong VDES A, one of 2 catalogued objects, reached a 504 × 522 km orbit inclined 80.4°.
How many satellites did Traffic VDES A & B launch?
2 payloads from this launch are catalogued, 2 of them still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).