Space travel China wants a network of thousands of satellites in space
"A thousand sails" ("Qianfan") is the name of a new space project in China: in future, it is to comprise a network of thousands of satellites offering regional internet access.
17.10.2024, 06:32
SDA
"A thousand sails" ("Qianfan") is the name of a new space project in China: in future, it is to comprise a network of thousands of satellites that will provide regional internet access. At the beginning of August, the People's Republic launched the first 18 satellites into space, with a further 108 to follow this year. There, at a relatively low altitude, are already the 6000 Starlink satellites with which SpaceX boss Elon Musk wants to create worldwide access to the internet. In total, there will be more than 34,000 of them.
China also wants to expand its network in stages - the plan is to have around 15,000 satellites orbiting the earth by 2030. However, "Qianfan" is not China's only satellite project in space. The "GW" constellation is planned with around 13,000 satellites. Another project, Honghu-3, is to comprise around 10,000 satellites. Large Internet projects with thousands of satellites are also about to be launched in other countries, such as Amazon's Kuiper.
Is there enough space in orbit?
Of course, the dimensions in space are enormous. But in view of the many plans for satellite networks, the question is: how much space is there in low orbit - i.e. at an altitude of around 200 to 2000 kilometers - and won't the satellites get in each other's way? In an interview with the Financial Times at the end of 2021, Musk calculated that there was room for "billions of satellites". Each layer, i.e. altitude, has a larger surface area than the Earth itself. "A few thousand satellites is nothing," he said.
The European Space Agency Esa takes a more critical view of the issue. According to them, there are around 13,230 satellites in orbit around the earth, around 10,200 of which are still in use. The increasing number of satellite constellations in space increases the risk of collisions, which could cause immense damage in chain reactions, says Esa boss Josef Aschbacher. He is in favor of a globally applicable space traffic law to clarify who has to take evasive action in dangerous situations.
Europeans want to bring satellites back down
In view of the increasing number of satellites, Esa itself wants to drastically limit the creation of space debris by 2030. Every satellite that is sent into space is to be removed from orbit at the end of its life, as Aschbacher says. In September, Esa deliberately caused one of its satellites to burn up in the atmosphere.
China's launch of a disused weather satellite in 2007 showed just how devastating the effects of debris can be. It is estimated that more than 40,000 pieces of debris more than one centimetre in diameter were produced - every second collision avoidance manoeuvre by Esa satellites since then has been due to such pieces.
The US space agency NASA, which itself has almost 2,000 satellites in space, is also concerned about the increasing number of satellites and debris in space and is reportedly working on "clean-up plans".
UN Office for Outer Space Affairs
Lambert Liu, an industry insider and space expert from China, however, believes the risk of satellites colliding is low. The Chinese citizen refers to the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs. Every country has to report data on satellite launches there, also to prevent collisions.
"Nobody wants something like this to happen, which is why we check the United Nations system to see which satellites are in the sky before launch," he says. The missiles are also in contact with the ground. If a satellite flies too high or too low, it has to be readjusted to avoid a crash.
Calls for more regulation
Some experts take a more critical view of the space issue. Miles Lifson and Richard Linares argued back in 2022 in an opinion piece on the online portal "Spacenews" that there is not enough space in low Earth orbit to safely place so many satellites there - unless precise regulations are agreed.
There are currently no fixed routes on which satellites must fly. This is another reason why the space race is a priority for China. The current five-year plan of the country, which is ruled by the Communist Party, sets the development of various satellites as a goal. This is also due to "the scarcity of satellite frequencies and orbital resources", which, according to official information, are allocated "on a first-come, first-served basis".
Why the Internet is being built via satellite
But why go to all this trouble if access to the Internet can also be provided on Earth? Liu cites China's national security as the reason. If you establish your own communication in space, you can prevent Internet access from being dependent on political decisions in other countries such as the rival USA.
In addition, around 40 percent of people on Earth do not yet have Internet access, which is why now is a good time to build a technical infrastructure for this, says Liu. However, some people are critical of the fact that China could soon be offering Internet via its satellites in other parts of the world, such as Africa. After all, the People's Republic blocks critical websites such as those of foreign media or organizations for its approximately 1.4 billion inhabitants.
Astronomers are also concerned about the satellites
A whole other group takes a critical view of all the satellites: astronomers. This is because when the sun shines on the satellites, they appear as interference stripes on astronomical images. For two years now, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has therefore been operating its own satellite monitoring system, which astronomers can use to plan their observations with the telescopes.
The IAU has just calculated that a new expansion stage of the Starlink satellites could shine up to five times brighter in the sky than the previous Starlink satellites. However, the brightness can be reduced, for example by using less reflective external coatings on the satellites or certain flight maneuvers.
