SpaceX’s Starlink is the most talked-about satellite internet service of late. However, China wants nothing to do with the American company and is creating its own satellite network to provide broadband to its inhabitants.
Shanghai’s new Qianfan satellite factory has the capacity to produce up to 300 satellites a year, its officials said in December 2023. This first year, they plan to play it safe by launching a constellation of 108 satellites that will be the start of what they hope will be competition to Starlink.
China recently launched one of its rockets to place a first constellation of Qianfan satellites into polar orbit. Although not many details of the project are known, the information that has arrived confirms that the spacecraft took off from the Taiyuan launch base, in the Chinese province of Shanxi.
China has chosen the Long March 6A to send the satellites because it is one of its newest rockets. This model is the first to have attachable solid rocket boosters and is capable of deploying a payload of up to 4.5 metric tons. It can also reach a sun-synchronous orbit of 700 kilometers.
According to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the rocket was responsible for transporting 18 satellites into orbit. These few Qiafan satellites will be the first of thousands of satellites that will complete the huge constellation to provide the country and other territories with satellite Internet. In fact, it is estimated that they could end up deploying some 14,000 satellites.
Behind this project is the Shanghai Space Satellite Technology (SSST) company, which has the support of the government. According to its managers, the idea is for the Qiafan satellites to be placed at an altitude of about 1,160 km and, from there, to provide a low-latency, high-speed broadband connection.
Why is China creating its own satellite network?
Starlink’s deployment began in early 2019 and, shortly after, the first customers were able to sign up for its Internet services in the United States. Later, it reached more parts of the world and, in 2021, they began their deployment in Spain. Their goal is to be available in more places and for their signal to reach every corner, even those that are difficult to access. However, they have encountered a difficulty: there are countries that refuse to allow Starlink to operate in their territory. This is the case of China.
Although Chinese authorities acknowledge Starlink’s military utility, they do not want civilians to use its services. After Ukrainian troops used satellite Internet in their war with Russia, the Asian military is planning to create something similar for its army. But they do not want to rely on the Americans, given that the obvious disagreements between the two countries could negatively affect them.
Relying on a US company is not an option. For this reason, China has preferred to copy Starlink with its own satellite network. In addition, they could use their satellite coverage to reach their allied countries and developing places, where the Internet is conspicuous by its absence.
However, the real scope of the Qiafan megaconstellation is unknown. As mentioned above, China has not given many details about its intentions with its satellite Internet. In short, if they plan to match Starlink services, they will have to get their act together because Elon Musk is years ahead of them. If they want to launch 14,000 Qiafan, they will have to develop more modern commercial rockets, which will allow them to reduce costs and, thus, increase the flight rate.
