China launches first Qianfan satellites to form 'Thousand Sails' megaconstellation

China launches first Qianfan satellites to form ‘Thousand Sails’ megaconstellation

The satellite network Starlink of Elon Musk may be prohibited in Chinabut that does not mean that the Asian giant will lack one that allows it to provide satellite broadband in its territory and other countries. The Chinese authorities have repeatedly expressed their interest in having one or more networks of this type and have just taken the first step in the deployment of what they call Qianfan or ‘Thousand Sails’ megaconstellation.

A Chinese rocket Long March 6A took off this Tuesday from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the northern province of Shanxi, with a load of 18 Qianfan satellites. China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, CASC for its acronym in English, confirmed two hours after the launch that All the Mil Velas satellites had reached their planned orbit.

The Thousand Sails project is being developed by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology, SSSTanother state-owned company. SSST seeks to replicate the success of Starlink and has plans to deploy a total of 1,296 satellites, in the first phase, at an altitude of approximately 1,160 kilometersThis number is less than the 6,000 satellites that make up the current Starlink constellation, but SSST plans to increase the frequency of launches.

Xinhua, China’s state news agency, has reported that the constellation ‘will provide global users with wireless services’. High-speed, low-latency, ultra-reliable satellite Internet‘.

SSST committed to putting into orbit 648 Mil Velas satellites by the end of 2025with the first 108 planned for this year. The August 6 launch included just 18 of these Starlink-style flat-panel communications satellites, but larger numbers will be deployed in future launches, 36 or 54 in eachThe rocket used is a new variant of the Long March that features a second-stage engine that can be fired multiple times. CASC says this will increase its payload capacity to more than 4.5 tonnes.

The long-term plan to form the Thousand Sails megaconstellation includes more than 14,000 satellites capable of providing high-speed Internet, eventually, worldwide. China has studied deploying Starlink in Ukraine and the significant advantage that has given his Army despite attacks on its infrastructure. On the contrary, the communication lines of the Russia are much more vulnerable to interference and attacks.

SpaceX is in the process of deploying a secure government version of Starlink for the United States known as StarshieldOne cause for concern for China is the advantage that Starlink could give to the United States in the event of a military conflict between the two powers.

China is not alone in following SpaceX’s lead. Amazon is another company planning to deploy megaconstellations of internet satellites in the future. There are concerns that putting too many of these objects into orbit increases the risk of collisionpotentially affecting other orbital activities and making space travel even more dangerous than it already is. There are also problems for astronomerswho say that these reflective objects interfere with their observations.

Chinese authorities have revealed few details about the Qianfan satellites. The project’s sponsors have said they have a ‘standardized and modular’ flat panel design‘It meets the needs of stacking multiple satellites with a single rocket,’ he explained. Shanghai Gesi Aerospace Technologya joint venture established by SSST and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to oversee the manufacturing of Qianfan satellites. The new Qianfan satellite factory in Shanghai can produce up to 300 satellites per year.

The Thousand Sails constellation is less well known than another planned satellite Internet network in China called Guowang, or ‘national network’which is backed by the government of Xi JinpingGuowang is owned by a state-backed company called SatNet and its architecture will consist of 13,000 satellitesHowever, China has not yet launched any spacecraft for the Guowang project.