China has begun construction of its second massive satellite network constellation in low Earth orbit (LEO).
one long march The 5B rocket lifted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on Hainan Island at 5:00 a.m. ET (1000 GMT; 6 p.m. local time) on Monday (December 16), carrying 10 broadband spacecraft.
The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), a state-owned enterprise that builds the Long March series of launch vehicles, said everything was going smoothly. Rocket.
“this satellite It entered the scheduled orbit smoothly and the launch mission was a complete success. WeChat update Early Tuesday morning (December 17). (Google Translate.)
The update described the satellite as “huge in size” but did not give any figures for its mass or size. It doesn’t yet specify where the spacecraft will be deployed, but we have that information thanks to astrophysicists and satellite trackers Jonathan McDowell and U.S. Space Force.
“Congratulations to the Space Force @S4S_SDA on the rapid cataloging of 10 Chinese internet satellites launched today, orbiting 1097 x 1110 kilometers x 86.5 degrees,” McDowell said. Monday via X.
The newly launched satellites are the first for State Grid, a broadband mega-constellation in low-Earth orbit that will eventually consist of nearly 13,000 spacecraft if all goes according to plan.
State Grid, whose name translates to “national network,” will be managed by China Satcom, a company established by the Chinese government in 2021. As noted by Space News.
Another broadband mega-constellation in China is also under construction—— Qianfan (“Thousand Sails”), which will eventually contain approximately 13,000 satellites. To date, 54 Thousand Sail spacecraft have been launched, three of which were launched this year.
Qianfan and State Grid will be China’s version of SpaceX Starlink LEO megaconstellations are already serving people around the world.
Starlink currently consists of more than 6,800 active satellites, and that number is growing; Space Exploration Technologies Corporation This year alone, more than 80 Starlink missions have been launched. Eventually, the megaconstellation may have more than 40,000 satellites.
In a previous mission, the Long March 5B’s 23-ton core stage crash back to earth In an uncontrolled manner about a week after liftoff, provoke criticism from across the space community. But that apparently didn’t happen during Monday’s State Grid press conference; according to SpaceNews, the core stage is not expected to enter orbit because the mission uses an upper stage called YZ-2 to transport the satellite to its intended destination.