China launched the first low-orbit Internet satellite

 On Thursday, China launched the first of a new series of "high-orbit" internet satellites, apparently to provide internet services to China and nearby regions. The Long March 3B/G rocket launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China at 8:03 a.m. Eastern (13:03 UTC) on February 29. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced the successful launch within an hour of liftoff. CASC's statement revealed that the previously undisclosed payload was the Internet-01 high-orbit satellite (Weixing Hulianwan Gaogui-01).

AIRspace shutdown reports revealed that Long March 3B/G was scheduled to launch from Xichang on February 29, indicating that the payload was likely destined for geosynchronous orbit. In Chinese, high orbit refers to orbits above low Earth orbit, not specifically high Earth orbit (HEO).

Initial reports by Chinese state media about the launch did not provide details of the satellite. CASC found only that the satellite was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a major spacecraft manufacturer.

China already operates the ChinaSat (Zhongxing) series of geostationary communications satellites, and CASC is directly involved in the joint venture. ChinaSat-26, China's first satellite to provide speeds of over 100 gigabits per second (Gbps), was launched last February.

In November, state media Xinhua reported that the first high-orbit Internet satellite had been completed and would be used to provide coverage across China and key areas along the Belt and Road Initiative.

“In the future, China Satcom will promote the construction of satellites with a larger capacity per satellite. By the end of the '14th Five-Year Plan', the total capacity of high-bandwidth communications satellites is expected to exceed 500 Gbps," Xinhua said, referring to the 2021-2025 period.

In particular, China also has plans for two Internet satellite arrays in low Earth orbit. It is a national program of Guowang and the G60 Starlink constellation supported by Shanghai. These projects will require dramatic increases in launch speed and launch power and could secure contracts for Chinese commercial launch service providers.

This launch was China's 10th in 2024. CASC revealed this week that China plans to carry out about 100 launches this year. CASC is planning about 70 launches, and commercial organizations are planning about 30 more launches. The main missions include two crewed missions and two cargo missions to the Tiangong Space Station. The Queqiao-2 lunar relay satellite will be launched in the first half of the year. This spacecraft will support Chang'e-6, the first-ever mission to return samples to the far side of the Moon.