Guowang (satellite internet)

History

2024: Satellite Launch

On December 16, 2024, China successfully launched the first spacecraft of the Guowang group into orbit, which in the future will be able to provide high-speed satellite Internet access around the world. We are talking about creating an analogue of the Starlink platform, which is being developed by SpaceXILON MASK.

It is reported that the Chinese heavy rocket Long March 5B (Changzheng-5B) with Guowang satellites launched from the Wenchang cosmodrome on Hainan Island. The first stage of the carrier fell into the ocean, and the upper stage of the Yuanzheng-2 (Yuanzheng-2) launched the first 10 Guowang spacecraft into orbit approximately 1,100 km high.

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Фото: arstechnica.com

China does not elaborate on the design and characteristics of these satellites, saying only that they will be used as relay stations of the broadband Internet access system. The Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) said Guowang's vehicles were developed by its subsidiary, the Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST). Both organizations belong to the central government of the PRC.

The Guowang project ("National Network") provides for the launch of approximately 13 thousand spacecraft into orbit. Half of them are planned to be launched by 2032. The operator of the system is China Satellite Network Group Co. (China Satnet), established in April 2021. In the public domain, there is little information about the activities of this enterprise.

The caution associated with the work of China SatNet can be explained by the immaturity and disorganization of the company, as well as possible uncertainties about its technical and strategic potential, says Marc Julienne, director of the Center for Asian Studies at the French Institute of International Relations.[1]

2023: Building the System

At the end of February 2023, it became known about the creation in China of a new satellite communication system, which is designed to compete with the American Starlink. The project is codenamed GW, the satellites will be launched in low Earth orbit.

It is assumed that GW satellites have the additional advantage of being cheaper and providing more efficient transmission than satellites in higher orbits. State-owned spacecraft and rocket manufacturer China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) will launch the first GW satellites from the planned group in September 2023.

GW satellites to be launched in low Earth orbit

According to SpaceX, the Starlink network, which has more than 3,000 satellites in orbit as of February 16, 2023, should eventually grow to more than 40,000 satellites. Starlink satellites can receive data from the US Department of Defense to plan or coordinate their positions, and they are equipped with surveillance sensors to monitor the space environment.

The GW constellation will include 12,992 satellites owned by China Satellite Network Group Co. The launch schedule for these satellites remains unknown, but their number can compare with the scale of SpaceX's planned network of more than 12,000 satellites by 2027.

The GW satellite constellation will be deployed quickly, before Starlink is completed, according to leader Xu Tsan of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Space Engineering University in Beijing. This will provide our country with a place in low orbit and will not allow the Starlink group to use low-orbit resources too actively. The Chinese satellites could also be placed in orbits not yet reached by the Starlink constellation, said they would gain capabilities and benefits at other orbital altitudes and even suppress Starlink, Tsan added.

Amid strained ties with Washington in 2023 and export controls that denied Chinese firms access to some advanced computing chips, President Xi Jinping called on China to develop technological independence in all areas.^[2]

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