NEW DELHI, Aug. 2 -- China's total number of operational satellites crossed 1,060 by July 2025, up from around 900 earlier this year, marking a sharp acceleration in launches driven by both state and private entities. This surge-making China the second-largest satellite operator globally after the United States-follows a sustained campaign of orbital deployments, with over 140 payloads launched in the first half of 2025 alone, underscoring its expanding investments in military, commercial, and dual-use space infrastructure.

A significant portion of this expansion is attributable to the growth of commercial megaconstellations such as Thousand Sails (also known as Guowang), which has launched 90 satellites out of a proposed 14,000, and the...