China plans to launch 200K satellites, possibly to rival US Starlink
China has submitted a plan to launch around 200,000 satellites, according to a UN agency specializing in digital technologies, in a possible bid to counter the Starlink satellite internet service run by US aerospace company SpaceX.
Beijing’s application for the massive satellite launch to the International Telecommunication Union, which allocates radio frequency bands and satellite orbits, suggests the Asian powerhouse aims to build its own version of the Starlink service.
The system operated by the company headed by Elon Musk links low-orbit satellites with portable user terminals and offers faster internet access than other satellite services. It has been used by Ukraine in its fight to repel Russia’s invasion.
ITU data shows that a Chinese research institution in Hebei Province applied in December to place around 193,400 satellites into orbit, while communications companies in Beijing and Shanghai also did so last year for at least 10,000 satellites.
The UN agency allocates satellite orbits on a first-come, first-served basis. The Starlink service is believed to employ about 10,000 satellites.
Strategic assets
A Chinese space authority official told Kyodo News that radio frequencies and satellite orbits are not infinite, and Beijing views them as “strategic assets that cannot be ignored,” stressing the need to submit applications at an early date.
Under its new five-year economic plan through 2030, China plans to promote the building of a satellite communication network.
Beijing has also analyzed how the Starlink service works in Taiwan and surrounding areas, indicating its concern about the system’s intelligence-gathering and reconnaissance capabilities that could aid the US military in defending the self-ruled island.
China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and aims to bring the democratic island into its fold, by force if necessary.
Not feasible
Some observers said, however, that China’s plan for the launch of such a large number of satellites was not technically feasible.
Kazuto Suzuki, professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo and an expert in space policy, said the plan sounds “unrealistic” and he believes it is aimed at demonstrating that China can “achieve what the United States can.”
China is aiming for a manned lunar landing by 2030, as President Xi Jinping’s government seeks to make the country a space superpower.
The official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday that Beijing plans to launch a Mars probe around 2028 to bring samples back to Earth around 2031.
