The private company GalaxySpace from China is accelerating research and development of a “satellite constellation” to create a global 5G communication network.
Simulation of GalaxySpace’s Internet satellite network at the 2022 China Science and Technology Week event. (Photo: China News)
GalaxySpace stated that their Internet satellites are designed to be stackable, allowing dozens of them to be launched simultaneously on a single rocket. This will significantly enhance rocket utilization efficiency and shorten the time required to build the satellite network.
The satellite internet will provide broadband connectivity, using satellites in space that act as ground stations to connect to terrestrial networks. In other words, each satellite serves as a mobile base station in space. It aims to offer users worldwide high-speed, flexible, and convenient internet access.
Additionally, each stackable satellite can carry a flexible solar panel array, which is compact, lightweight, and modular, helping to save mass and launch costs, the Beijing-based satellite manufacturer informed Xinhua on December 23.
Since its operational start in April 2018, GalaxySpace aims to establish a broadband satellite network deployed in low Earth orbit to create a global 5G communication network. On March 5, 2022, the company launched six broadband communication satellites from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, successfully verifying the network technology and service capability of the “Internet constellation.”
Chang Ming, the project commander for the satellites, indicated that if the development process goes smoothly, GalaxySpace’s stackable Internet satellites could be launched early next year.
