Beijing: China plans to launch 300 low-orbit satellites to provide worldwide communication services, with the first in the series to be launched later this year, an official media report said Monday.
The first in the 300-satellite array; known as the ‘Hongyan constellation’, is set to be launched by the end of this year, it said. The announcement was made at the Hunan Commercial Aviation Space and Marine Equipment Forum held Thursday in Changsha, central China’s Hunan Province, state-run Global Times reported.
The ‘Hongyan constellation’ is composed of more than 300 satellites, along with data processing centres and will be built in three stages. Once completed, the satellite communication network will take the place of the ground-based network and allow a mobile phone to be connected everywhere on the planet, either in a remote desert or at sea, the CASC said.
China is already developing BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) to rival America’s Global Positioning System, (GPS). Besides rivalling GPS, China uses BDS for its military applications to avoid dependence on GPS.
The new constellation will be the first group of low-orbit communication satellites designed and launched by China, enabling the country to better guide disaster rescue efforts, the ‘Global Times’ reported.
Low-orbit satellites have stronger signals and a shorter signal delay than synchronous orbit satellites, which are 36,000 km above the equator. The coverage of a single low-orbit satellite is limited, requiring more satellites to cover wider areas, Pang Zhihao, retired rocket and aerospace expert with the China Academy of Space Technology (CASC) told the daily.
“The technology can be applied to multiple fields including civil and military use,” Pang said.
