CURRENT AFFAIRS
CURRENT AFFAIRS
Description
China is almost ready to launch its first batch of satellites for a giant constellation that will compete with SpaceX's Starlink Internet network. According to Xinhua, the state-run Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST) has launched the network's first components. The SSST constellation has been called "Thousand Sails."
Project Overview
The project, also known as the G60 Constellation, was launched last year with the goal of establishing a Chinese-based global low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite Internet network that would compete with Starlink. Starlink, a SpaceX company, operates a broadband constellation of around 5,500 satellites used by individuals, businesses, and government agencies.
Initial Launch
According to Xinhua, 18 communications satellites successfully entered their respective orbits after launching from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in Shanxi province aboard a Long March 6A carrier rocket. SSST intends to launch 108 satellites this year and 648 by the end of next year, achieving "global network coverage" by 2027. By the end of the decade, SSST plans to have deployed 15,000 satellites. LEO satellites typically operate at altitudes ranging from 300 to 2,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface.
Strategic Implications
According to Reuters, Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) academics have analyzed the deployment of Starlink in the Ukraine crisis and have repeatedly warned about the hazards it poses to China if the country enters into a military conflict with the US. SSST's Thousand Sails constellation is one of three "ten-thousand star constellations" that China plans to use to compete with SpaceX. China has previously informed the International Telecommunication Union that it intends to install 51,300 satellites, while SpaceX has set a target of 42,000 spacecraft by 2027.
Military Concerns
Since 2022, when the Ukraine war highlighted the value of Starlink in combat communications, PLA-affiliated media outlets have written a number of editorials about the threat Starlink poses to Chinese interests. These editorials have labeled Starlink and SpaceX as part of the "space hegemony" that the United States is attempting to establish in space, giving it a "unilateral space military advantage."
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