China launches two groups of internet satellites within 24 hours
Baku, June 5, AZERTAC
China launched two groups of internet satellites within 24 hours, speeding up the in-orbit construction of one of its massive internet networks, according to China Daily.
At 7:39 pm Thursday, a Long March 6A carrier rocket blasted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province, placing 18 communication satellites into their preset orbits for the Spacesail Constellation.
It was the seventh time the Long March 6A model had deployed low-orbit internet satellites for Spacesail. By now, the rocket has sent 126 satellites for the system.
At 2:34 pm Friday, a Long March 8 rocket lifted off from the Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Center — a coastal spaceport in Wenchang, Hainan province. It also deployed 18 satellites for a space-based internet network.
The Long March 8 has carried out four flights to transport 72 Spacesail Constellation satellites.
After the latest launch, a total of 200 satellites have been lifted into space to form the Spacesail Constellation, which is being established by the Shanghai-based Spacesail to provide high-speed, secure and reliable broadband internet services to users around the world.
If everything goes according to plan, the colossal system will have more than 10,000 satellites operating in low-altitude orbits by the end of 2030, according to the company.
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