Qianfan ,[1] officially known as the Spacesail Constellation[2] and also referred to as G60 Starlink,[3] is a planned Chinese low-Earth orbit satellite internet megaconstellation to create a system of worldwide internet coverage. It was created by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST), a firm backed by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The project was started in 2024 as a rival to the Starlink satellite constellation installed by SpaceX, and plans to be constituted of over 15,000 satellites by the project's end.[4][5]
History
2023
The "Thousand Sails" program began with the creation of the "Shanghai Action Plan to Promote Commercial Aerospace Development and Create a Space Information Industry Highland (2023-2025)" program first announced on 20 November.[6] The government of Shanghai raised 6.7 billion Chinese Yuan ($943 million) in funds for the construction of the project, which was initially dubbed the G60 Starlink.[7]
The first flat panel satellite for the megaconstellation was assembled in December 2023. The satellite's facilities were allocated to the state owned Shanghai Gesi Aerospace Technology (Genesat).[8]
2024
On 6 August 2024 at 06:42 UTC, China launched its first set of eighteen flat panel satellites associated with the project using the Long March 6A launch vehicle
Launches
Impact on the sky
Qianfan satellites are bright, and their light pollution poses a threat to observational astronomy. At their current luminosity the spacecraft will leave streaks in photographic research images that cannot be removed by software. They would also interfere with aesthetic appreciation of the night sky because they are visible to the unaided eye. Other spacecraft operators have mitigated the brightness of the satellites to reduce their impact on astronomy.[16] This is a known problem with satellite constellations, which can be partly mitigated.[17]
See also
- Guowang/SatNet
- Starlink
- Chang'e 6
- Shensuo
- SVOM
- Queqiao 2
References
- "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, retrieved 12 August 2024^
- Eduardo Baptista. China will launch first satellites of constellation to rival Starlink, newspaper reports