In an attempt to surpass Elon Musk's Starlink, researchers in China are planning to launch their own fleet of 13,000 satellites to bring ultra-broadband worldwide

China prepares Chinese response to Starlink, the satellite Internet connection service of SpaceX, Elon Musk's aerospace company.

Beijing researchers are planning to launch their own fleet of satellites. According to the South China Morning Post, the constellation has the code name "GW", which probably refers to "Guowang", quoting Professor Xu Can of the People's Liberation Army's Space Engineering University in Beijing. The China Satellite Network Group, a company created specifically for the project, will take ownership of the constellation, as Xu and colleagues explain in an article published February 15 in the journal Command and Control Simulation.

The mega-constellation does not have an established launch date, but it should be made up of 12,992 satellites with the aim of exceeding the number of satellites launched into orbit by the US SpaceX by 2027.

So China Satellite Network Group, Starlink and OneWeb and soon also Amazon with Project Kuiper will compete for domination of low earth orbit.

All the details.

CHINA AT WORK ON ITS OWN CONSTELLATION

China's efforts to get Guowang off the ground have been on the table for some years now. As SpaceNews points out, China submitted the application to launch 13,000 satellites at the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva in 2020. In 2021, Beijing established the China Satellite Network Group, citing satellite internet as a crucial part of China's infrastructure. This month, China Satellite Network Group signed an agreement with Shanghai, although the details of the specifics of the agreement are unclear.

There is no set date for the launch or completion of China's constellation, but Xu says the goal is for the GW network to be rolled out before the Starlink constellation is completed. A rapid deployment of the Chinese constellation could prevent SpaceX from "grabbing" Earth orbit, SCMP evidence.

BEIJING'S SPACE PROGRAMS

Meanwhile the Dragon space program is achieving success with increasingly complex missions such as the construction of its space station, missions to Mars and trips to the Moon. Yet China currently cannot match SpaceX's launch schedule. In February 2023 alone, seven missions took off for the American company, four of which were dedicated to the launch of Starlink satellites.

WHAT STATE IS STARLINK

To date, SpaceX has more than 3,600 Starlink satellites in orbit , covering 25 countries and over 145,000 users worldwide. These satellites ensure global internet access regardless of terrestrial connections. The Internet satellite network has connected some of the most remote parts of the globe and is officially available on all seven continents.

BEIJING FEARS ABOUT MUSK'S STARLINK SATELLITES

Finally, Chinese researchers also fear that SpaceX may choose to weaponize its constellation of satellites, Gizmodo points out. So, in addition to providing Internet services, China's proposed satellite fleet could spy on its rival and even disable individual Starlink satellites.

“Starlink satellites can use their orbital maneuverability to actively strike and destroy nearby targets in space,” the researchers said, according to SCMP . Xu added that the Chinese effort "will ensure that our country has a place in low orbit and prevent the Starlink constellation from over-advancing low orbit resources."

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This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/ecco-come-la-cina-fara-concorrenza-a-starlink-di-spacex/ on Tue, 28 Feb 2023 05:57:57 +0000.