China successfully launched the first group of low Earth orbit satellites for its satellite internet constellation on Monday. The satellites were launched by a Long March-5B carrier rocket equipped with a Yuanzheng-2 upper stage from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in southern Hainan Province at 6:00 p.m. Beijing Time. The satellites have successfully entered their preset orbits.
This launch marked the 552nd mission of the Long March series carrier rockets. The satellites are intended to form part of a larger satellite internet constellation aimed at enhancing internet connectivity. China began the construction of its Guowang megaconstellation early Monday with the launch from Hainan Island.
Despite no official coverage of the launch, amateur live streams provided footage from Wenchang, showing a large number of spectators on beaches close to the launch pad. The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology confirmed the success of the launch two hours after liftoff. Guowang aims to provide global communications coverage from low Earth orbit and is seen as a response to Starlink and other constellations.
The constellation is managed by the China Satellite Network Group Co., Ltd., or China Satnet, which was established in April 2021. The company, headquartered in Xiong’an New Area in Hebei Province, oversees the design, deployment, and operation of the constellation. In addition to Guowang, another Chinese megaconstellation, the Qianfan or Thousand Sails project, began construction this year.
Qianfan aims to construct a 14,000-satellite constellation, with around 600 satellites in orbit by the end of 2025.
China launches satellite internet group
Qianfan has garnered substantial support, securing approximately $943 million in funding in early 2024.
The Chinese government’s approval of these two low Earth orbit communications constellations suggests a high strategic value is placed on such systems. The megaconstellations are seen as enablers of China’s digital economy, providing broadband services in remote and underserved areas as part of a satellite internet project for China’s “new infrastructures” policy unveiled in 2020. China faces a tall order in its efforts to catch up to Elon Musk’s SpaceX satellite service.
SpaceX’s Starlink already has nearly 7,000 operational satellites in orbit and serves around 5 million customers in more than 100 countries, according to SpaceX. China is aiming for a similar scale and hopes to have around 38,000 satellites across three of its low earth orbit internet projects, known as Qianfan, Guo Wang, and Honghu-3. Experts say that while Chinese constellations won’t be the choice internet provider for places such as the U.S., Western Europe, Canada, and other U.S. allies, plenty of other regions could be open to a Chinese service.
“There’s a couple of geographic areas in particular that might be attractive for a Starlink-like competitor, specifically one made by China, including China itself,” said Juliana Suess, an associate at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. “Russia, for example, but also Afghanistan and Syria are not yet covered by Starlink. And there’s also large parts of Africa that aren’t yet covered.”
Aside from being a tool for geopolitical influence, having a proprietary satellite internet constellation is increasingly becoming a national security necessity, especially when ground internet infrastructure is crippled during war.
“When it comes to the difference that Starlink technology has played in the Ukraine battlefield, one of the big leaps we’ve seen has been the emergence of drone warfare and the connected battlefield,” said Steve Feldstein, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “Having satellite-based weaponry is something that’s viewed as a crucial military advantage. And so I think China sees all that and says investing in this is absolutely critical for our national security goals.”
