The Smart SkyNet-1 01 satellite operates at an altitude of 20,000 km and is equipped with advanced technology to provide high-speed internet to users worldwide.
The first satellite in China’s ambitious Smart SkyNet broadband internet network, designed to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink, was launched into mid-Earth orbit on May 9. The satellite, named Zhihui Tianwang-1 01 or Smart SkyNet-1 01, was lifted into space from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China using the Long March 3B rocket. Smart SkyNet-1 01 was developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) along with several other institutes.
The Long March 3B rocket carrying the Smart SkyNet-1 01 satellite launches from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province on May 9. (Photo: Xinhua).
SpaceX, Elon Musk’s aerospace company, has rapidly succeeded in providing internet services from space, largely due to the lack of competition. Amazon’s Kuiper project has only launched two prototype satellites so far. Another provider, OneWeb, is focused on building its satellite network and plans to start offering services to customers by June this year.
CASC is a latecomer in this field. However, it aims to accelerate the development of infrastructure and achieve internet speeds of 500 Gbps as early as the beginning of 2025.
Unlike Starlink, which operates in low Earth orbit, SkyNet-1 01 operates at an altitude of 20,000 km, within the medium Earth orbit range, which is typically between 2,000 km and 36,000 km. This is also the operational region for GPS satellites.
SkyNet-1 01 features high-speed microwave links, two-way laser links between satellites, and digital processing and forwarding capabilities. CASC plans to test core satellite technologies such as laser communication in space and to assist remote users in locations like Antarctica and on ships in the western Indian Ocean to access the internet.
CASC reported that an additional seven satellites will join the initial group of Smart SkyNet, with the potential to expand to 16 or 32 satellites. This number may seem small compared to OneWeb’s more than 600 satellites, while Starlink aims for a milestone of 6,000.
However, the CASC satellites will not operate individually in space; they will coordinate with other Chinese satellites already in orbit to quickly achieve global coverage. Specifically, Smart SkyNet will work in conjunction with satellites from the GuoWang and G60 Starlink networks, which operate in low Earth orbit and higher geostationary orbit, with an expected scale of around 12,000 satellites for each network.
