Qianfan. Qianfan (), officially known as the Spacesail Constellation and also referred to as G60 Starlink, is a planned Chinese low-Earth orbit satellite internet megaconstellation to create a system of worldwide internet coverage. It was created by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST), a firm backed by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The project was started in 2024 as a rival to the Starlink satellite constellation installed by SpaceX, and plans to be constituted of over 15,000 satellites by the project's end.

History

2023 
The "Thousand Sails" program began with the creation of the "Shanghai Action Plan to Promote Commercial Aerospace Development and Create a Space Information Industry Highland (2023-2025)" program first announced on 20 November. The government of Shanghai raised 6.7 billion Chinese Yuan ($943 million) in funds for the construction of the project, which was initially dubbed the G60 Starlink. 

The first flat panel satellite for the megaconstellation was assembled in December 2023. The satellite's facilities were allocated to the state owned Shanghai Gesi Aerospace Technology (Genesat).

2024 
On 6 August 2024 at 06:42 UTC, China launched its first set of eighteen flat panel satellites associated with the project using the Long March 6A launch vehicle, China's 35th orbital launch in the year 2024. The rocket launched from the Taiyuan Launch Complex located in the north of Shanxi Province, and brought the satellites into a polar orbit. The Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation both reported that the space mission was "a complete success". However, the United States Space Command reported that soon after the delivery of 18 satellites, the upper stage of Long March 6A  broke apart and created a cloud of debris of “over 300 pieces of trackable debris in low-Earth orbit”.

On 15 October 2024 at 11:06 UTC, a Long March 6A rocket launched the second group of eighteen Qianfan satellites into a polar orbit.

On 5 December 2024 at 04:41 UTC, a third group of eighteen Qianfan satellites were launched into a polar orbit by a Long March 6A rocket.

Future 
Based on Chinese state media China Central Television coverage, China has planned to launch and establish 648 satellites by the end of 2025 as part of the 1,296 satellites in the first phase of construction of the constellation, with the finished broadband multimedia satellite megaconstellation consisting of over 15,000 internet satellites. Of these, 108 satellites were planned to be deployed in 2024 in separate launches of 36 and 54 internet satellites each, and would operate in "Ku, Q and V" bands. 

The system also planned to annex finite frequencies and orbital slots, and also provide data security.  The People's Liberation Army expressed intentions of potentially using the megaconstellation for military uses akin to Starlink's utility for Ukrainian Armed Forces communications while fighting against Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Launches

Impact on astronomy 
Qianfan satellites are bright, and they pose a threat to observational astronomy. At their current luminosity the spacecraft will leave streaks in photographic research images that cannot be removed by software. They would also interfere with aesthetic appreciation of the night sky because they are visible to the unaided eye. Other spacecraft operators have mitigated the brightness of the satellites to reduce their impact on astronomy.

See also 
 Chang'e 6
 Shensuo
 SVOM
 Queqiao 2

References 

Space program of the People's Republic of China
2024 in spaceflight
2024 in China
2024 in Shanghai
Communications satellite constellations
Communications satellites in low Earth orbit
Communications satellites of China
Internet service providers
Satellite Internet access
Spacecraft launched in 2024
Wireless networking
Space technology