The two largest networks in China have deployed less than 1 percent of the planned satellites, as the records appear, a measure of their strength behind Elon Musk Spacex for dominance in the field of space communications.
Satellite in the low -Earth orbit, which reaches 1,200 miles above the planet, is necessary for driver and drone car and military surveillance. China Starlink is a military threat, and Chinese companies have invested extensively in two huge networks, with nearly 27,000 satellites between them.
One of the unexpected causes of slowness is that Chinese companies have not cleared a major engineering obstacle.
The first network, or Megaconsperance, Qianfan, was to about 650 satellites in space by the end of the year. But the records indicate that the company behind the network, Shanghai Space Sites, Tilaian, has placed only 90 satellites in orbit since its launch in August.
The other huge, Guang, is far behind it. Despite plans to launch about 13,000 satellites over the next decade, they have 34 per orbit.
Spacex contains about 8000 of the star satellite in orbit and expands its progress every month, according to the data of force Space Force and CelestakNon -profit collection gathering space data.
Chinese officials Feel anxious By Spacex, which they considered incredibly linked to the Pentagon even before Musk is short -lived in the Trump administration. People’s Liberation Army researchers expect that the network will become “an integral part of the American military fighting system.” They imagine a time linking Starlink US military bases and working as an early network of missiles and interceptions.
Although Starlink is intended for civil use, it has become necessary for communications and the coordination of drones in the war in Ukraine. And Spacex has contracts with the United States government to build and launch satellites, some of which are To spy And others Targeting enemies And follow the missiles. Spacex also launches the satellites built by other defense contractors.
Space agents in China and their airlines have not responded to suspension requests.
China, like the United States, recognizes the value of national security to be in space. But the government also encourages the interests of the commercial space He says he expects to be created Market 344 billion dollars.
“Exploring the wide universe and building a space force is our continuous space dream,” said Xi Jinping, the best leader in China, last year, according to what he said. Government media.
He did not go smoothly.
China has not solved a major missile problem. Spacex has.
One of the main reasons for delaying China is the lack of a reliable and reusable launcher. Chinese companies are still launching satellites with a single use missiles. After spreading satellites, the missile parts return to the ground or become a debris of space.
But Rocket WorkHorm from Spacex, The Falcon 9, can be partially reused. The bottom of the missile, which contains the main engines, returns to the ground in a straight position, healthy and ready to publish in other tasks. This greatly reduces costs and speeds the time between launch operations.
This is the innovation that pushed Spacex forward away from competitors. Rockets Falcon 9 was used in about 500 tasks, according to Spacex.
But six years after the start of Falcon 9 starts to launch Starlink Satellites, Chinese companies still have no answer to them.
Reusable missiles should withstand severe heat while returning to the base. Jonathan McDowell, an astronomical physicist at the Harvard Smithson Center for Astronomical Physics, said that Tracking organisms in space.
Dr. McCdueel said: “The question is not only regaining them, but their recovery is in good condition enough to release them again.”
The lack of a reusable missile is not the only restriction. Satellite manufacturing is a complex endeavor and a time consumer, and creating a fixed fixed rhythm is difficult even with reusable reusable missiles. It took years of Spacex to work on Kinks. But the experts said that the race for a reusable missile was central in the future of the low Chinese Earth’s orbit.
On March 8, one of the Chinese models of the government, on March 8, was supposed to be reusable. But its developer, China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, abandoned this plan. Dr. McCdueel said the improved version, which is 8 March, can be “growing up” to be a reliable reward for hawks 9.
The government tested nearly 20 missile launchers in the long March series.
Another possible alternative is the Zhuque-3, which was made by the Chinese company Landspace. The operator conducted a takeoff and recovery test last year, and in another test in June, its engines were launched for 45 seconds.
The third alternative, Tianlong-3, had a setback last year. The missile briefly set out during what was supposed to be a fixed and exploded test when influencing.
Andrew Jones, a journalist who monitored the launch of Chinese space over the past decade, said that Chinese companies can achieve a technological boom early this year, but will take time to reach a reliable rhythm.
Mr. Jones said: “They have to succeed in work.”
This did not prevent China from marketing satellite services.
Chinese space companies are photographing business in countries that warn governments against relying on stars moons or looking for better prices.
Shanghai Space Sils Thailaya says it is negotiating with 30 countries due to the arrival contracts for Qianfan Megacons Company.
The company signed a deal to provide the Internet in Brazil last year, shortly after the freezing of the Brazilian judge Local Starlink assets In a conflict with another company owned by musk, at X. Spaceslay other agreements to provide the Internet in Thailand and Malaysia and established a local subsidiary in Kazakhstan.
Its services, however, have not yet reached the Internet. In fact, 13 of 90 satellites have not reached the right rise of the orbit, for unclear reasons. This means that they are probably not functional, Dr. McCdueel said.
Joao Falcao Sera, a research colleague at the European Space Policy Institute, said online internet contracts now under negotiations can become an important feature of economic diplomacy “in a world that moves from free trade to a more protection and more self -based system.”
He said that the state’s decision to sign contracts with Starlink could be seen as a “message to the United States and China” about the place where its loyalty lies.
There are still a record number of Chinese launch operations this year.
Special companies and government in China have performed more than 30 launch operations in the first half of the year, a faster rhythm compared to last year.
The missions placed about 150 satellites and two spacecraft in space, according to official ads and data collected by the American space force. This includes launch operations in low, medium and further orbits.
However, Chinese companies will need to capture this pace. This is particularly applied to Megaconstelches, which risk losing the right to work on their radio frequencies.
The constellation of the firing of half of the satellites must within five years of applying for its frequencies successfully, and complete full publication within seven years, according to the rules set by the International Telecommunication Union, which is the United Nations Agency to allocate frequencies.
The late Chinese huge goals behind these goals. Companies who fail to reach their goals may be needed to reduce the size of their major operations.
However, experts say it is not wise to write off. China’s satellite launches tend to accelerate in the second half of the year. Technological achievement can radically transform the landscape.
This year, Dr. McCdueel said it could indicate the transition from Starlink’s dominance to a more competitive field.
Joy Dong and Chris Buckley contributed to the reports. An additional work by Scott Rainhard.
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