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Qianfan

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Qianfan (Chinese: 千帆星座; pinyin: Qiānfān xīngzuò; lit. 'Thousand Sails Constellation'),[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.[4] 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.[5][6]

History

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2023

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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.[7] 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.[4]

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

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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, China's 35th orbital launch in the year 2024. The rocket launched from the Taiyuan Launch Complex located in the north of Shanxi Province, and brought the satellites into a polar orbit. The Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation both reported that the space mission was "a complete success".[5][6] However, the United States Space Command reported that soon after the delivery of 18 satellites, the upper stage of Long March 6A broke apart and created a cloud of debris of “over 300 pieces of trackable debris in low-Earth orbit”.[9][10]

On 15 October 2024 at 11:06 UTC, a Long March 6A rocket launched the second group of eighteen Qianfan satellites into a polar orbit.[11]

On 5 December 2024 at 04:41 UTC, a third group of eighteen Qianfan satellites were launched into a polar orbit by a Long March 6A rocket.[12]

Future

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Based on Chinese state media China Central Television coverage, China has planned to launch and establish 648 satellites by the end of 2025 as part of the 1,296 satellites in the first phase of construction of the constellation, with the finished broadband multimedia satellite megaconstellation consisting of over 15,000 internet satellites.[5] Of these, 108 satellites were planned to be deployed in 2024 in separate launches of 36 and 54 internet satellites each, and would operate in "Ku, Q and V" bands.[8]

The system also planned to annex finite frequencies and orbital slots, and also provide data security.[6] The People's Liberation Army expressed intentions of potentially using the megaconstellation for military uses akin to Starlink's utility for Ukrainian Armed Forces communications while fighting against Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[6][13]

Launches

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Name Launch Orbit Orbital apsis Inclination SCN COSPAR ID Launch site Launcher Status
Qianfan 1 to 18[5][6] 6 August 2024[5][6]
06:42 UTC[6] 		Polar[6] TSLC[5][6] Long March 6A[5][6] Operational
Qianfan 19 to 36[11] 15 October 2024
11:06 UTC[11] 		Polar[11] TSLC[11] Long March 6A[11] Operational
Qianfan 37 to 54[12] 5 December 2024
04:41 UTC[12] 		Polar[12] TSLC[12] Long March 6A[12] Operational
Qianfan (TBD) 23 December 2024 Polar WCLS Long March 8 Planned

Impact on astronomy

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Qianfan satellites are bright, and they pose 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.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ ""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.
  2. ^ "CGWIC Successfully Launches the First Batch Satellites of Spacesail Constellation by LM-6A Launch Vehicle". CGWIC. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  3. ^ Baptista, Eduardo (August 6, 2024). "China will launch first satellites of constellation to rival Starlink, newspaper reports". Reuters. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  4. ^ a b Jones, Andrew (2024-02-02). "Shanghai firm behind G60 megaconstellation raises $943 million". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Kharpal, Arjun (2024-08-06). "China launches its rival to Elon Musk's Starlink internet satellites". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Jones, Andrew (2024-08-06). "China launches first satellites for Thousand Sails megaconstellation". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  7. ^ Jones, Andrew (2023-11-30). "Shanghai to foster commercial space ecosystem". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  8. ^ a b Jones, Andrew (2023-12-29). "First satellite for Chinese G60 megaconstellation rolls off assembly line". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  9. ^ "China creates space debris with initial launch for ambitious internet satellite network". South China Morning Post. 10 Aug 2024.
  10. ^ "Chinese rocket breaks apart after megaconstellation launch, creating cloud of space junk". Space.com. August 9, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Jones, Andrew (2024-10-15). "China launches second batch of 18 satellites for Thousand Sails megaconstellation". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Jones, Andrew (2024-12-05). "Long March 6A launches third batch of Thousand Sails constellation satellites". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  13. ^ 李小历. "警惕"星链"的野蛮扩张和军事化应用". Weixin Official Accounts Platform. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  14. ^ Mallama, Anthony (2024-08-26). "Observers' Report: First Views of the Chinese "Thousand Sails" Satellites". Sky&Telescope. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
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