A two-stage Long March 5B rocket took off from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Monday at 13:30 Iran time and launched the first group of satellites of China’s “Guawang” system. Unusually, there was no official coverage of the launch; But live amateur footage showed large numbers of spectators on the beaches near the launch pad.
The Shanghai Academy of Astronautical Technology (SAST) confirmed the mission’s success two hours after the rocket took off. According to the report of this academy, they were present in the recent launch of “Group of Near Orbit Satellites 01”; But no information about the number of satellites or basic details such as orbit, satellite mass and their manufacturer has been disclosed. The state news agency Xinhua also mentioned the satellites as the first group of near-Earth orbit satellites for an Internet satellite system.
Guawang aims to provide global Internet coverage from near-Earth orbit and is seen as an answer to Starlink and other satellite systems. Although the Guawang is apparently intended for civilian use, China has so far released very limited details of the project.
Unlike previous missions, Long March 5B’s first stage is not expected to reach Earth’s orbit and make an uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere; Because the rocket uses a different upper stage called YZ-2 to place the satellites in the desired orbit. In the past, the remnants of the Long March 5B rocket would fall on the planet after injecting the payload into orbit.
read more
The recent launch marks the beginning of the construction of a new Chinese satellite system. Plans to build Guawang were first revealed in 2020 by a filing for less than 13,000 satellites with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). This system is managed by the private company China Satellite Network Group (China Satnet), which was established in April 2021.
According to ITU regulations, China Satnet must launch half of the 13 thousand satellites by 2032. This requires a sharp increase in China’s launch rate and the continuation of other programs at the same time.
A country with two satellite systems
Guawang is not the first Chinese satellite system to be built this year. “Qianfan” or Thousand Sails is a satellite system owned by the state-owned company “Shanghai Space Satellite Technology”, whose construction began earlier. So far, 54 satellites from the Qianfan system have been sent into the earth’s orbit in the form of three launches this year.
The fourth launch of Qianfen may be carried out by a Long March 8 rocket from the Hainan New Commercial Space Launch Center on December 22. The Chinese goal for this system is to send 600 satellites by the end of 2025 and finally deploy 14,000 satellites in the coming years. The Chinese government’s licensing of two systems in near-Earth orbit shows the high strategic value of satellite internet networks for this country.
The Internet Satellite Supersystem will help grow China’s digital economy and bring high-speed Internet access to remote and underserved areas. Also, by providing international satellite internet services, Qianfen and Guowang can strengthen China’s soft power and economic influence, especially in developing countries. Qianfen already signed a contract with Brazil to provide services in 2026.
