{
  "id": "tianlian",
  "name": "Tianlian data relay satellites",
  "aliases": [],
  "domain": "space",
  "country": "CHN",
  "category": "Data relay satellite constellation",
  "status": "in-service",
  "fielded": null,
  "operators": [
    "CHN"
  ],
  "summary": "Chinese geostationary tracking and data relay satellites supporting crewed and military spacecraft.",
  "specs": [
    {
      "k": "orbit_regime",
      "v": "GEO",
      "src": [
        "gsp-tl-2"
      ],
      "conf": "medium"
    },
    {
      "k": "sats_count",
      "v": 6,
      "src": [
        "gsp-tl-2"
      ],
      "conf": "medium",
      "note": "Tianlian-2 01–06 (2019–2026); five Tianlian-1 launched 2008–2021"
    },
    {
      "k": "first_launch",
      "v": 2008,
      "src": [
        "gsp-tl-1"
      ],
      "conf": "medium"
    },
    {
      "k": "on_orbit",
      "v": 12,
      "src": [
        "celestrak-gp"
      ],
      "conf": "high",
      "note": "Payloads with current element sets in the public catalog, active or not."
    },
    {
      "k": "active_sats",
      "v": 9,
      "src": [
        "celestrak-gp"
      ],
      "conf": "medium",
      "note": "Count in the CelesTrak active satellites list, which estimates operational status."
    },
    {
      "k": "perigee_km",
      "v": [
        35588,
        35782
      ],
      "src": [
        "celestrak-gp"
      ],
      "conf": "high",
      "note": "Active satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08."
    },
    {
      "k": "apogee_km",
      "v": [
        35791,
        35986
      ],
      "src": [
        "celestrak-gp"
      ],
      "conf": "high",
      "note": "Active satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08."
    },
    {
      "k": "period_min",
      "v": [
        1436.1,
        1436.2
      ],
      "src": [
        "celestrak-gp"
      ],
      "conf": "high",
      "note": "Active satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08."
    },
    {
      "k": "inclination_deg",
      "v": [
        0.1,
        4.09
      ],
      "src": [
        "celestrak-gp"
      ],
      "conf": "high",
      "note": "Active satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08."
    }
  ],
  "payloads": [],
  "variants": [],
  "art": "satellite",
  "image": null,
  "verified": null,
  "changelog": [
    {
      "date": "2026-11-08",
      "change": "Entry created from cited open sources"
    },
    {
      "date": "2026-11-08",
      "change": "Orbital elements from CelesTrak GP data (epoch about 2026-11-08): 12 catalogued, 9 active."
    }
  ],
  "satellites": [
    {
      "name": "TIANLIAN 1-01",
      "norad": 32779,
      "cospar": "2008-019A",
      "perigee_km": 36562,
      "apogee_km": 36652,
      "inclination_deg": 10.5,
      "period_min": 1478.2,
      "epoch": "2026-11-08",
      "active": false,
      "owner": null,
      "launch": null
    },
    {
      "name": "TIANLIAN 1-02",
      "norad": 37737,
      "cospar": "2011-032A",
      "perigee_km": 36118,
      "apogee_km": 36176,
      "inclination_deg": 5.91,
      "period_min": 1454.5,
      "epoch": "2026-11-08",
      "active": false,
      "owner": null,
      "launch": null
    },
    {
      "name": "TIANLIAN 1-03",
      "norad": 38730,
      "cospar": "2012-040A",
      "perigee_km": 36092,
      "apogee_km": 36247,
      "inclination_deg": 6.19,
      "period_min": 1455.7,
      "epoch": "2026-11-07",
      "active": false,
      "owner": null,
      "launch": null
    },
    {
      "name": "TIANLIAN 1-04",
      "norad": 41869,
      "cospar": "2016-072A",
      "perigee_km": 35588,
      "apogee_km": 35986,
      "inclination_deg": 1.23,
      "period_min": 1436.1,
      "epoch": "2026-11-08",
      "active": true,
      "owner": "PRC",
      "launch": "2016-11-22"
    },
    {
      "name": "TIANLIAN 2-01",
      "norad": 44076,
      "cospar": "2019-017A",
      "perigee_km": 35769,
      "apogee_km": 35804,
      "inclination_deg": 0.91,
      "period_min": 1436.1,
      "epoch": "2026-11-08",
      "active": true,
      "owner": "PRC",
      "launch": "2019-03-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "TIANLIAN 1-05",
      "norad": 49011,
      "cospar": "2021-063A",
      "perigee_km": 35765,
      "apogee_km": 35808,
      "inclination_deg": 1.96,
      "period_min": 1436.1,
      "epoch": "2026-11-08",
      "active": true,
      "owner": "PRC",
      "launch": "2021-07-06"
    },
    {
      "name": "TIANLIAN 2-02",
      "norad": 50005,
      "cospar": "2021-124A",
      "perigee_km": 35765,
      "apogee_km": 35808,
      "inclination_deg": 1.17,
      "period_min": 1436.1,
      "epoch": "2026-11-08",
      "active": true,
      "owner": "PRC",
      "launch": "2021-12-13"
    },
    {
      "name": "TIANLIAN 2-03",
      "norad": 53100,
      "cospar": "2022-078A",
      "perigee_km": 35774,
      "apogee_km": 35800,
      "inclination_deg": 1.03,
      "period_min": 1436.1,
      "epoch": "2026-11-08",
      "active": true,
      "owner": "PRC",
      "launch": "2022-07-12"
    },
    {
      "name": "TIANLIAN 2-04",
      "norad": 63361,
      "cospar": "2025-062A",
      "perigee_km": 35639,
      "apogee_km": 35934,
      "inclination_deg": 4.01,
      "period_min": 1436.1,
      "epoch": "2026-11-08",
      "active": true,
      "owner": "PRC",
      "launch": "2025-03-26"
    },
    {
      "name": "TIANLIAN 2-05",
      "norad": 63662,
      "cospar": "2025-084A",
      "perigee_km": 35782,
      "apogee_km": 35791,
      "inclination_deg": 4.09,
      "period_min": 1436.1,
      "epoch": "2026-11-08",
      "active": true,
      "owner": "PRC",
      "launch": "2025-04-27"
    },
    {
      "name": "TIANLIAN 2-06",
      "norad": 100140,
      "cospar": "2026-169A",
      "perigee_km": 35762,
      "apogee_km": 35814,
      "inclination_deg": 2.79,
      "period_min": 1436.2,
      "epoch": "2026-11-08",
      "active": true,
      "owner": "PRC",
      "launch": "2026-07-23"
    },
    {
      "name": "TIANLIAN 3-01",
      "norad": 100172,
      "cospar": "2026-172A",
      "perigee_km": 35775,
      "apogee_km": 35796,
      "inclination_deg": 0.1,
      "period_min": 1436.1,
      "epoch": "2026-11-08",
      "active": true,
      "owner": "PRC",
      "launch": "2026-07-29"
    }
  ],
  "url": "https://www.defensepedia.com/systems/tianlian.html",
  "sources": {
    "gsp-tl-2": {
      "title": "Tianlian-2 01–06",
      "publisher": "Gunter's Space Page",
      "url": "https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/tl-2.htm",
      "published": null,
      "tier": 3,
      "checked": "2026-11-08"
    },
    "gsp-tl-1": {
      "title": "Tianlian-1 01–05",
      "publisher": "Gunter's Space Page",
      "url": "https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/tl-1.htm",
      "published": null,
      "tier": 3,
      "checked": "2026-11-08"
    },
    "celestrak-gp": {
      "title": "NORAD GP element sets (current data)",
      "publisher": "CelesTrak (data from the U.S. Space Force 18th/19th Space Defense Squadron catalog)",
      "url": "https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/",
      "published": "2026-11-08",
      "tier": 1,
      "checked": "2026-11-08"
    }
  }
}