China officially started setting up a giant internet satellite constellation by launching the first components of the network on August 6. The 18 communication satellites entered their designated orbits smoothly after lifting off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province. The project to set up the Qianfan Constellation, also known as the G60 Constellation, was launched last year with the ambitious goal of establishing a Chinese global low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet network that can challenge the likes of SpaceX’s Starlink. The Qianfan project, operated by state-controlled Shanghai Yuanxin Satellite Technology, will have three phases of development. By the end of 2025, it aims to have 648 satellites in orbit to provide regional network coverage, then make its coverage global by 2027. Finally, by 2030, it hopes to operate more than 14,000 satellites to provide multi-service integration directly to mobile devices. The satellites launched this time were produced by GeneSat in Shanghai. The company aims to launch 36 and 54 satellites per rocket to accelerate the pace of building the network.
LEO satellites operate between 160 and 2,000 km above earth, offering reduced transmission delays and lower link losses compared with geostationary satellites, making them highly suitable for satellite internet services. Starlink exemplifies this type of communication, creating a satellite Wi-fi network that, once operational, allows high-speed, seamless internet access anywhere on the ground. LEO satellites can also offer quicker communications across oceans compared with undersea cables and are strategically important due to their minimal blind spots and cost-effectiveness in remote areas. But given the limited space available in orbit, the global race for LEO satellite resources has intensified. SpaceX plans to launch 42,000 satellites by 2027, while China has told the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) it intends to deploy 51,300 satellites.
However, after putting the 18 satellites into orbit, the upper stage of the Long March 6A rocket broke apart, the U.S. Space Command (USSC) reports, scattering over 300 pieces of trackable debris – of at least 10 cm in diameter – in low-earth orbit. The Long March 6A rocket is a two-stage medium rocket powered by liquid-oxygen kerosene engines with four bundled solid-fuel boosters. It is capable of sending 4 tons of payload into low-earth orbit.
Besides Qianfan, other large-scale Chinese projects being planned include China Satellite Network Group’s GW constellation, which is expected to launch 12,992 satellites, and Lanjian Aerospace’s Honghu-3 project, which will deploy around 10,000. With its early start, the United States currently holds a significant lead in the number of satellites in orbit. “The future of satellite internet is likely to see fierce competition between the U.S., China, the European Union and Russia,” said Zhang Rui, Council Member of the China Marketing Association, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
