A Chinese state-owned enterprise is on the verge of launching the first batch of satellites for a megaconstellation aimed at challenging U.S. company Space X’s Starlink’s near-global internet network, as reported by a state-backed newspaper on Monday.
If successful, this launch would be a significant step in Beijing’s strategic objective to develop its own version of Starlink, a rapidly growing commercial broadband constellation consisting of around 5,500 satellites in space, serving consumers, companies, and government agencies. This competition for dominance in Earth’s lower orbits also carries military implications, potentially impacting the balance of power among competing nations.
The launch, led by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST), is slated to take place at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in the northern province of Shanxi, one of China’s primary satellite and missile launch centers, as reported by the China Securities Journal.
This launch is part of SSST’s “Thousand Sails Constellation” plan, also known as the “G60 Starlink Plan,” which commenced last year with the goal of deploying over 15,000 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. SSST has not yet responded to requests for comment on this report. LEO satellites typically operate at altitudes ranging from 300km to 2,000km above the Earth’s surface and offer the advantage of being more cost-effective and providing more efficient transmission than satellites at higher orbits.
In related news, a U.S. judge ruled on Monday that Google violated antitrust law by spending billions of dollars to create an illegal monopoly and establish itself as the world’s default search engine. Notably, Starlink, operated by billionaire Elon Musk, currently has tens of thousands of users in the United States and plans to expand its system by adding tens of thousands more satellites, making it the largest of its kind. Over the past two years, Chinese researchers in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have been studying the deployment of Starlink in the war in Ukraine and have repeatedly warned about the risks it poses to China, particularly in the event of a military conflict with the United States.
In January, an op-ed published in a PLA mouthpiece described the deployment of Starlink as a “serious threat to the security of space assets of various countries.” SSST’s “Thousand Sails constellation” is one of three “ten-thousand star constellation” plans that China hopes will enable it to narrow the gap with SpaceX. SSST’s plan aims to launch 108 satellites this year, 648 satellites by the end of 2025, achieve “global network coverage” by 2027, and deploy 15,000 satellites before 2030.