China ready to launch 1st satellite in constellation that will challenge Elon Musk's Starlink

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China plans to launch more than 100 satellites for its new "constellation" this year and thousands more by the end of the decade.

Artwork showing two of the potential dangers of low-Earth orbit. The artwork shows a satellite damaged by an impact with debris, with a flare encroaching from top left.
An illustration of a low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite. China is set to launch the first of its LEO satellites in a bid to compete with SpaceX's Starlink constellation. (Image credit: MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY via Getty Images)

China is about to launch the first 18 satellites in its bid to compete with Elon Musk's Starlink, a constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) internet satellites, a Chinese government-owned news agency reports.

The satellites will launch from one of China's major space mission facilities, namely, the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the northern Shanxi province, according to Reuters. The launch was led by government-owned Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology company as part of its "Thousand Sails Constellation" project, which aims to create a global broadband network similar to that offered by SpaceX's Starlink.

Older internet satellite services, meanwhile, rely on individual geostationary satellites that orbit at distances nearly 65 times higher above the planet, in "high Earth orbit." Such high-flying satellites are expensive to launch and the data they transmit takes a while to reach Earth. As a result, older internet satellites are too slow to efficiently support video, streaming, online gaming and other applications that require high data rates, according to Starlink.

Over the past two years, China has become increasingly concerned about the potential threats to national security posed by Starlink's constellation. The Chinese People's Liberation Army has speculated that, were China to enter into a conflict with the U.S., Starlink's constellation could be used to track hypersonic missiles; make it more efficient for drones and stealth fighter jets to communicate with the ground; and even destroy Chinese satellites, Live Science previously reported. Ukrainian forces have used Starlink to direct drones against Russian forces in the ongoing war there.

The Thousand Sails project isn't the only way China is trying to protect itself from Starlink's capabilities: Chinese scientists recently outlined a plan to mount lasers on submarines to destroy Starlink satellites.

The Chinese government has set a goal of launching 108 satellites for its new constellation this year. By 2030, it aims to have 15,000 satellites in orbit, Reuters reported.

Tia Ghose
Tia Ghose
Editor-in-Chief (Premium)

Tia is the editor-in-chief (premium) and was formerly managing editor and senior writer for Live Science. Her work has appeared in Scientific American, Wired.com, Science News and other outlets. She holds a master's degree in bioengineering from the University of Washington, a graduate certificate in science writing from UC Santa Cruz and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Tia was part of a team at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that published the Empty Cradles series on preterm births, which won multiple awards, including the 2012 Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism.