China is nearing the launch of its first satellites that will be part of its national low-Earth orbiting broadband megaconstellation, which will eventually challenge SpaceX's Starlink network.
For the first time, China is equipping a Long March 5B rocket with a Yuanzheng-2 second stage, with the Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) saying that the new rocket configuration will be used to launch satellites for the new network in the second half of this year, reports SpaceNews.
The plans call for a 13,000-satellite mega constellation, which has been referred to as "Guowang" or national network, with hopes of competing against Starlink and other Western systems.
Two entities, the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a major subsidiary of CASC, and the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites (IAMCAS) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, are expected to manufacture satellites for the Guowang project.
By the end of this year, IAMCAS is expected to deliver its first 30 satellites. Other commercial setups could be included in the project.
Small satellite manufacturing companies have increased in China in recent years, with each of them now capable of producing hundreds of satellites every year.
Liu Bing, director of the general design department at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, told Chinese state news in November that in the next few years, "the Long March 5 series of rockets will be transferred to the high-density launch stage to meet the country's needs for large-scale and rapid access to space."
Other officials say that China is speeding up its efforts so the constellation can be launched before Starlink is completed, associate professor Xu Can with the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Space Engineering University in Beijing and his colleagues wrote recently, according to The South China Morning.
They said the push will "ensure that our country has a place in low orbit and prevent the Starlink constellation from excessively pre-empting low-orbit resources."
The Long March 5B rocket platform is already being used by China to send modules of its new Tiangong space station into orbit.
Meanwhile, China has spoken out about SpaceX allowing Starlink satellites to be used by the military in Ukraine, arguing that it should have the capability to shoot down the company's satellites, reports Reuters.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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