HELSINKI — The first satellite for a second planned Chinese low Earth orbit communications megaconstellation has been produced in new facilities in Shanghai.
A new generation flat-panel satellite rolled off the assembly at the G60 digital satellite production factory in Shanghai’s Songjiang District Tuesday, Dec. 27, according to Chinese press reports.
The satellite is the first for the G60 Starlink low Earth orbit communications megaconstellation. An initial 108 satellites of a total of around 12,000 G60 Starlink satellites are to be launched across 2024.
The facilities are managed by Shanghai Gesi Aerospace Technology (Genesat), a state-owned company established in 2022 by the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Innovation Academy for Microsatellites (IAMCAS) and Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology.
Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology was the Chinese side of the former KLEO Connect constellation project. That Chinese-European joint venture ended in acrimony and ongoing lawsuits. Genesat recently raised funds through investment vehicles under both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shanghai government.
Documentation filed with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in April likely pertaining to the G60 Starlink project sets out plans for 36 polar orbital planes, each filled with 36 satellites, totaling 1,296 spacecraft. The satellites would operate in the Ku, Q and V bands.
The satellites are described as low-cost, high-throughput, highly-reliable, low-latency and modularized. The overall system, like that of SpaceX’s Starlink and its competitors, aims to provide broadband access services to users around the world.
Shanghai space ecosystem
The satellite manufacturing center entered service this year. It is to be capable of producing 300 satellites per year. It was also stated to lower the cost of a single satellite by 35 percent, though without specifying a reference point.
The project is linked to the…
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