Space Program of China Codexery

Qianfan

Chinese megaconstellation aiming for global internet coverage.

Qianfan, also called the Spacesail Constellation or G60 Starlink, is a planned low Earth orbit satellite internet system.[1] The project aims to deploy over 15,000 satellites to provide worldwide internet coverage.[1][2]

Quick Facts

Official name
Spacesail Constellation
Also known as
G60 Starlink
Operator
Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST)
Backers
Shanghai Municipal People's Government and Chinese Academy of Sciences
Total planned satellites
over 15,000
First launch date
6 August 2024
Launch vehicle
Long March 6A
Launch site
Taiyuan Launch Complex, Shanxi Province

Facts from the source article.

Geography and history

The "Thousand Sails" program began with a Shanghai government action plan announced on 20 November 2023.[3] The first flat panel satellite rolled off the assembly line in December 2023 at a factory in Shanghai's Songjiang District.[4] The United States Space Command reported that the rocket's upper stage broke apart, creating over 300 pieces of trackable debris.[5][6] A second batch of 18 satellites launched on 15 October 2024.[7]

Shanghai Gesi Aerospace Technology, a state-owned enterprise, oversees the satellite production facilities.[8][9] The first 18 satellites were sent into orbit on 6 August 2024 at 06:42 UTC via a Long March 6A rocket that lifted off from the Taiyuan Launch Complex in Shanxi Province.[5][10]

What the cited sources add

The CNBC report notes that China's launch underscores its bid to challenge U.S. dominance in the space sector.[2] The SpaceNews article states that the constellation is intended to secure finite orbital slots and frequencies.[10] The same article confirms that the launch was China's 35th orbital launch of 2024.[10] The South China Morning Post reports that the debris cloud contained "over 300 pieces of trackable debris"[6]

The Space.com article notes that this was not the first time a Long March 6A upper stage spawned a debris cloud.[11] The SpaceNews article on funding states that investors included Shanghai Alliance Investment and CASSTAR.[4] According to the same article, G60 Starlink is the second low Earth orbit communications megaconstellation in China, after the Guowang project.[4]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Qianfan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ""千帆星座"首批组网星成功发射，为什么要打造低轨卫星互联网？", The Paper, 21 August 2024; "CGWIC Successfully Launches the First Batch Satellites of Spacesail Constellation by LM-6A Launch Vehicle", CGWIC, 7 August 2024; Baptista, "China will launch first satellites of constellation to rival Starlink, newspaper reports", Reuters, August 6, 2024 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Kharpal, "China launches its rival to Elon Musk's Starlink internet satellites", CNBC, 2024-08-06. facts only, no text reused. cnbc.com
  3. Wikipedia, "Qianfan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jones, "Shanghai to foster commercial space ecosystem", SpaceNews, 2023-11-30; Jones, "Shanghai firm behind G60 megaconstellation raises $943 million", SpaceNews, 2024-02-02 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Jones, "Shanghai firm behind G60 megaconstellation raises $943 million", SpaceNews, 2024-02-02. facts only, no text reused. spacenews.com
  5. Wikipedia, "Qianfan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kharpal, "China launches its rival to Elon Musk's Starlink internet satellites", CNBC, 2024-08-06; Jones, "China launches first satellites for Thousand Sails megaconstellation", SpaceNews, 2024-08-06; "China creates space debris with initial launch for ambitious internet satellite network", South China Morning Post, 10 Aug 2024; "Chinese rocket breaks apart after megaconstellation launch, creating cloud of space junk", Space.com, August 9, 2024 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. "China creates space debris with initial launch for ambitious internet satellite network", South China Morning Post, 10 Aug 2024. facts only, no text reused. scmp.com
  7. Wikipedia, "Qianfan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jones, "China launches second batch of 18 satellites for Thousand Sails megaconstellation", SpaceNews, 2024-10-15 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Qianfan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jones, "First satellite for Chinese G60 megaconstellation rolls off assembly line", SpaceNews, 2023-12-29 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Jones, "First satellite for Chinese G60 megaconstellation rolls off assembly line", SpaceNews, 2023-12-29. facts only, no text reused. spacenews.com
  10. Jones, "China launches first satellites for Thousand Sails megaconstellation", SpaceNews, 2024-08-06. facts only, no text reused. spacenews.com
  11. "Chinese rocket breaks apart after megaconstellation launch, creating cloud of space junk", Space.com, August 9, 2024. facts only, no text reused. space.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Qianfan (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Space Program of China

Chinese space program2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile testASAT program of ChinaAstronaut Center of ChinaChina Academy of Launch Vehicle TechnologyChina Aerospace Science and Technology CorporationChina Manned Space AgencyChina Maritime Satellite Telemetry and Control DepartmentChina Space DayChina–Brazil Earth Resources Satellite programChinese Deep Space NetworkChinese reusable experimental spacecraft

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →