|
The launch of the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites by Shanghai
Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST) took place at Taiyuan
Satellite Launch Centre in the northern Shanxi province.
The satellites were carried aboard a Long March 6 rocket and
represent the first batch in SSST's "Thousand Sails
Constellation" plan, CCTV reported.
The state-backed plan is one of China's answers to Starlink,
SpaceX's growing commercial broadband constellation that has
about 5,500 LEO satellites in space to provide near-global
internet to consumers, companies and government agencies.
Starlink is a subsidiary of U.S. entrepreneur Elon Musk's SpaceX
space company.
LEO satellites usually operate at altitudes of 300km to 2,000km
from the Earth's surface and have the advantage of being cheaper
and providing more efficient transmission than satellites at
higher orbits.
Control over the satellites that occupy these altitudes has
significant military implications.
Since 2022, when the Ukraine war demonstrated the importance of
Starlink to battlefield communications, media affiliated with
the People's Liberation Army (PLA) have published several
editorials about the threat Starlink poses to China's interests.
These editorials have described Starlink and SpaceX as part of
the "space hegemony" the United States is trying to create in
space, giving it a "unilateral space military advantage".
(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista; editing by Miral Fahmy)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
