Launch puts China firmly in the communications satellite game

There are, he wrote, two “pretty credible,” NGSO (Non-Geostationary Orbit) communications constellations in China. These include the state-backed SatNet/Guowang constellation and the “partly state-backed but somewhat commercial G60/ Qianfan constellation.”

Curcio went on to say, “despite it only being announced with any seriousness a few months ago, we already know a heck of a lot more about G60/Qianfan than we do about SatNet/Guowang, as the former appears very keen for publicity and recognition, and the latter very much under wraps, possibly due to its Central government ownership.”

The operation, he wrote, “will be operated by Yuanxin Satellite, aka SSST, a company that was provided  about $1 billion of funding from the Shanghai Government earlier this year. The satellites will be built by Genesat, a joint venture between the Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai Engineering Center for Microsatellites (CAS SECM) and Shanghai Aerospace Investment Limited (SAIL), a Shanghai Government fund.”

According to Curcio, “recent statements from the company call for 648 satellites and APAC regional coverage by EOY 2025, and an additional 648 satellites for global coverage by EOY 2027.”

He stated that the SatNet/Guowang constellation “will be operated by China Satellite Networks Limited (SatNet), a centrally controlled SOE established in April 2021. The constellation might have thousands of satellites, or over 10,000 satellites, or some other undefined number. We have zero news of deployment timeline, we don’t know what the satellites look like, and we have no confirmation about who will build them.”